Ocracoke, N.C. lighthouse undergoes repairs

OCRACOKE ISLAND, N.C. 

It's short and rather stout, has no fancy markings and can't be climbed.

But the Ocracoke Lighthouse, the state's oldest continuously operating beacon, is beloved among the Outer Banks lighthouses for its simplicity and its charming village location.

And it's getting some work done.

Rehabilitation of the 1823 tower's interior, which began recently, will include replacing cast iron railings on the balcony, repointing the brick mortar, replacing rotting window frames and repainting.

Even though work on the tower was last done 27 years ago by the Coast Guard, the 65-foot lighthouse - the shortest in North Carolina - is basically in good condition, said Doug Stover, National Park Service Outer Banks Group historian.

"This is more of a cosmetic thing," he said. "It's not a major restoration structurally."

The work, Stover said, will also involve construction of a ramp, which, for the first time, will allow people with disabilities to get a peek inside.

In the summer, and occasionally throughout the year, the Park Service opens the base of the tower so visitors can see the unpainted brick interior and look up the spiral staircase.

The new ramp will connect with the existing boardwalk that leads from the parking lot to the lighthouse.

"It allows people with wheelchairs to go in," Stover said. "You would be able to see the top of the balcony."

However, the balcony is not open to the public.

To get to it, a person would have to climb 68 steps inside a tower that gets considerably skinnier the higher it gets.

At the top, one would have to crawl through a trap door, Stover said, making it impractical for public climbing. The tower also leans about two feet to the side.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla, which is owned and operated by the nonprofit Outer Banks Conservationists, and the Park Service's Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton can be climbed by the public.

But the Bodie Island Lighthouse, situated at the north end of Cape Hatteras National Seashore near Oregon Inlet, will not be climbable until its restoration is completed in about two years.

The Ocracoke Lighthouse's original fourth order Fresnel lens in the lantern room has been protected with a wooden cover while workers sandblast the walls and metalwork, and then repaint, said Darrell Echols, National Park Service Outer Banks Group deputy superintendent.

For that reason, he said, the light was unplugged in November.

The beacon, visible for 14 miles, will be turned on again when the project is completed at the end of January.

Meanwhile, Echols said, the community has hung two Christmas wreaths from the lighthouse's gallery deck - one facing the Pamlico Sound, another facing the Atlantic.

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com