Cape Lookout

• By: Wilson Moore
• Sources:
• Cape Lookout National Park Service NC
• Wikipedia
• Google
• Lighthouse.co

History:
The first Cape Lookout was completed in 1812 at the cost of $20,678.54. In 1857 congress gives $45,000 to build a new lighthouse at Cape Lookout. November 1, 1859 the new Cape Lookout was finished with its unusual white and black diamonds. During the Civil War North Carolina joined the Confederacy and took down their lences so the Union people would not sneak in. The Union Army took over nearby areas. The Confederate Army snuck in and tried to blow up the lighthouse unsuccessfully. It did cause damage to the lighthouse, though. The iron stairs were temporarily replaced by wooden ones. In 1867, the stairs were restored back to iron. On July 15, 2010, Cape Lookout passed the inspection for climbing.

Location:
Cape Lookout is located on the southern point of the Outer Banks. Cape Lookout is 196.1 miles away from Cape Hatteras. Its address is Core Banks, NC, which view can be seen from the top of the lighthouse. It is located in Cape Lookout National Seashore. Cape Lookout is 203.1 miles away from Bodie Island.

Characteristics:
Cape Lookout is painted with black and white diamonds. It is the only lighthouse with this pattern and is used to show direction. Cape Lookout is 163 feet tall and 104 feet above sea level. The inside is red painted bricks with 207 steps to the top. The bricks were used for a hard layer to protect the lighthouse. Cape Lookout can be seen from 12 miles away. It also flashes every 15 seconds.

Famous:
Cape Lookout is famous because the islands that make it up look like a "fishhook." To the southeast of the lighthouse, the Cape Lookout Shoals has an underwater sandbar also shaped like a "fishhook." Many ships have wrecked because of this. Old maps call it Promontorium Tremendum, which means "Horrible Headland" in Latin. In 1954, it was painted with an unusual white and black diamonds. Although the diamonds were used for telling it apart from Cape Hatteras, there are rumors they got the two patterns for the lighthouses got mixed up. Today, Cape Lookout guards the harbor.

Interesting:
Did you know that Cape Lookout is 163 feet tall? Did you know Blackbeard is said to have dropped his anchor in the harbor? Did you know that during the Revolution the British used Cape Lookout as an anchor stop? Did you know Alexander Hamilton was the first secretary of treasury and pushed for Congress to pass a Lighthouse Bill to build lighthouses on the Outer Banks in 1789?