In 1784, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law that levied a duty of six pence per ton on all vessels sailing up the Cape Fear River towards Wilmington. The collected money was used to build a lighthouse “at the extreme point of Bald-head or some other convenient place near the bar of said river, in order that vessels may be enabled thereby to avoid the great shoal called the Frying-Pan.” Work on the lighthouse had commenced by 1789, but sickness and the stranding of supply vessels greatly delayed the completion of the beacon. In fact, the lighthouse was only partially complete when it and an accompanying ten-acre tract of land were ceded over to the newly formed Federal government in 1790. Congress appropriated $4000 in 1792 to complete the lighthouse, a task that was carried out by December of 1794.

Cape Fear Lighthouse

North Carolina’s first lighthouse had been built too close to the river’s edge, and in 1813, the endangered tower was ordered torn down. That same year, Congress approved $15,000 “for rebuilding the Bald Head Lighthouse.” The replacement tower was completed in 1817 and remains standing to this day. Neither the new lighthouse nor its predecessor was deemed satisfactory at marking Frying Pan Shoals, and in 1854, a lightship was anchored near the outer extreme of the shoals to better mark the hazard.

The Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board for 1889 stated:

The shoals forming the continuation of this cape (Cape Fear) for about 18 miles to the southeast are dreaded by shipmasters only a little less than those at Cape Hatteras. At present a lightship near the outer extremity of the shoals warns vessels of danger and gives them a good point of departure. This aid to navigation cannot be dispensed with, but it is not sufficient to insure adequate protection to the large number of domestic and foreign vessels attracted to this point by the considerable and increasing trade of the neighboring port of Wilmington, N.C., because of the small area lighted by it and because of its liability to be set adrift from its moorings during heavy storms, which is the very time when the light is most needed.

The present Cape Fear light (Bald Head), on account of its inland position and want of height does not cover the shoal and therefore does not give sufficient warning to vessels when the lightship may have drifted from her moorings. A first order lighthouse built on the pitch of Cape Fear, with a radius of 18 ½ miles of light, would be seen so far as to give timely warning…

The report also noted that there was no first order lighthouse between Cape Lookout, N.C., and Cape Romain, S.C., a distance of about 170 nautical miles. A masonry tower with a height of 150 feet along with a keeper’s dwelling and the necessary outbuildings were recommended for the southeastern end of Bald Head Island at an estimated cost of $150,000.

The board repeated its recommendation each year from 1890 to 1897. To make the project more palatable, the cost was revised downward to $70,000 in 1893. Congress finally provided $35,000 in 1898 and permitted contracts to be granted for an additional $35,000.

A twenty acre plot of land along with a right-of-way was obtained on the southeastern point of the island through condemnation, and a tramway line was constructed to connect the site with the Cape Fear River, located roughly three miles to the west.

Destruction of Cape Fear Lighthouse

In April of 1901 a contract was signed for an iron, skeleton tower that would stand 150 feet tall. The metalwork was finished on June 3, 1903, and later that summer, on August 31, the tower first beamed forth its powerful beacon produced by a revolving first-order Fresnel lens. When the new Cape Fear Lighthouse was established, the old Cape Fear Station was changed from a fourth-order flashing light, with intervals of thirty seconds, to a fixed, fourth-order light, and its name was changed to Bald Head Light Station.

Captain Charles Swan was a keeper at the Cape Fear Lighthouse from 1903 until his retirement in 1933. Devaney Farrow Jennette served as first assistant keeper under Captain Swan from 1919 until 12:10 a.m. on December 5, 1932, when he died of a heart attack in the watchroom just after climbing the tower to relieve Captain Swan. For roughly a year prior to his death, Keeper Jennette had been experiencing chest pains following physical exertion, and he had to pause repeatedly while climbing the tower to avoid the painful incidents.

Captain Swan's career would span more than half the life of the tower, as it was discontinued in 1958 when the powerful Oak Island Lighthouse became operational. No longer needed, the old tower was demolished. Portions of the support columns were cut away, and dynamite charges were used to bring the tower down. Sections of the Fresnel lens somehow ended up at an antique shop in Southport. Two of the sections have been recovered and are now displayed at the museum adjacent to the Bald Head Lighthouse.

The massive concrete blocks, which anchored the eight support legs that were arranged around the tower’s central column in an octagonal pattern, form a roundabout at the eastern end of the island. The concrete block in the center supported the spiral staircase, while smaller blocks just south of the central one must have served as a foundation for the entrance to the tower.

In addition to the footings, the tower’s redbrick generator room, which is now used as the information center for the Bald Head Island Conservancy, remains at the site. Three keeper’s dwellings, now known as Captain Charlie’s Station after the long-term keeper, are still standing along the beach just south of the tower. These residences have been well preserved and are currently available as rental properties.

The Frying Pan Shoals Lightship remained on station even after the establishment of the Cape Fear Lighthouse. The lightship was active until 1964, when it was replaced by the Frying Pan Light Tower. This modern “Texas Tower” was built in Louisiana and barged to the shoals. The tower extends forty feet above the water and forty feet down to the ocean floor. Automated in 1979, the tower was scheduled to be demolished around 2004.

Bald Head Island and the surrounding waters have been home to numerous navigational aides for over two centuries. Though several have been lost completely, remnants of the Cape Fear Lighthouse and the historic Bald Head Lighthouse remind island visitors of the important role Bald Head Island has played in helping mariners pass safely through the surrounding waters.

Photo Gallery: 1 2 3 4 5

References

1. “History of Cape Fear Light North Carolina.”
2. “The Original Bald Head Island Lighthouse,” John Hairr, Lighthouse Digest, June 2001.

To reach the footprint of the Cape Fear Lighthouse, take North Bald Head Wynd east from the ferry landing, passing Old Baldy. North Bald Head Wynd will become Federal Road, which leads to the footprint near the east end of the island. The remains of the lighthouse are adjacent to the campus of the Bald Head Island Conservancy, which has a great gift shop. Detailed island maps are provided by Island Passage.