State

How They Built the Lighthouse By SALLY C. MOOItF Extracted from a longer article by Sally Moore, of Cape Lookout I" How We Blew Oat the Light.” The State, July 15. 1969). but heretofore unpublished, parts of her narrative are quoted from "my old fisherman friend,” who describes how “thee” (they) bundled some of the problems of building a lighthouse on this iso¬ lated stretch of the outer banks over WO years ago . — Ed "Grandpa told me how all worked trying to get the lighthouse built and that when it was finished, how proud thee were of it. "First the boats pulling barges came with heart light'ard logs, which had to be rafted ashore so a dock could be built over on the sound side of the banks. Then thee hauled more heart light’ard logs for the foundation of a railroad track. A scaffold was built and a log hammer placed in the lop so the piling could be pounded down. Us¬ ing horses to pull the logs, piling were drove down about 6 feet apart through marsh turf for almost a mile, from the Lighthouse Landing on the sound side to the lighthouse site. Log stringers were placed on the piling, then the boats and barges came loaded with rail¬ road track and four big wheels that weighed at least a ton each." My old fisherman friend told me that these large wheels were left on the beach, and that they were still there SALISBURY LUMBER & SUPPLY CO. Phone ME 6-5821 Salisbury, N. C. S. Moin Еж». Л co'Tp'ctc stock of lumber Items always со hood. Special woodwork items mode to your design and desire until sometime after the 1933 hurri¬ cane which cut the inlet through. For the benefit of the fishermen in eastern Carteret County. Senator Graham Bar¬ den of New Bern had it designated as a permanent inlet with maintenance and dredging when needed; thus with the dredging and gradual erosion, the banks on cither side cut out widening the inlet, and finally those big wheels fell into the water. They arc now in about the middle of Bardens Inlet. "After the railroad bed was finished the tracks were laid, then a flatbed carrier was built on those wheels. I he boats started bringing barges loaded with brick and cement. With a team of horses pulling the flatbed, all those brick and cement were hauled to the lighthouse site." The records on the construction of Cape Lookout Lighthouse have either been misplaced or destroyed, but some of the old piling that was under the old railroad track is still standing at the waters edge on the east side of Bardens Inlet. There is still a lot of brick rub¬ ble along these rows of piling that held the track. These ends of piling were buried in marsh mud, and the inlet has widened until high tide has washed the top layers of mud away, thus leaving these ends exposed. Heart pine, buried in mud or sand under salt water will be preserved indefinitely. The local version of the actual con¬ struction of the lighthouse is most in¬ teresting. The tale goes that one day an Irish brickmason showed up and stated that he had been sent to lay the brick. When asked where the other brickmasons were, he stated that there were no others; if they would bring him the mortar and brick, then he could do just fine. The story goes that he laid the entire two courses; the in¬ side tower and the outside one. Wood¬ en stairs were installed as work pro¬ gressed. therefore eliminating the need for an outside scaffolding. This un- Construction in North Carolina Cope Lookout Light os it stonds today— its dii- tincti»c diomond-jhoped design, rising 169 tee» obove the sond -ill dominotc the Cope Lookout Notionol Seashore, now being formed in Ihol arco. The lighthouse construction referred to in this story wos completed in 1859, rebuilding ond re¬ furnishing the original light which wos con¬ structed in 1812. The 1859 light wos partially destroyed by Confederate forces, to frustrate plons of the Yonkcc forces о few yeors lotcr, during the war But it was rebuilt in 1867. os we see if now. known Irish brickmason evidently was capable of the job as this 169 foot high tower, completed in 1859 is cer¬ tainly enduring evidence and a notable example of his skill. After the at¬ tempted destruction of the lighthouse by Confederates in 1X64, metal steps were installed winding up to the lop. $o«il*olli M.'iriua IS ring’s Sonic Now Fen lures To I lie C’o«4l The ScaPath Marina opened its doors at Wrightsville Beach last month, marking three years of investment, de¬ velopment. and planning which has in¬ volved some of the best brains in the nation. Sea Pal h is probably the best con¬ ceived marina in the Carolinas. Soon, possibly by the end of this year, it will become a posh complex including con- 15 THE STATE. MAY 15. 1971