Caswell Beach loans $50,000 for Oak Island Lighthouse repairs

CASWELL BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Engineers say the Oak Island Lighthouse needs almost $100,000 in repairs.

Volunteers with the Friend of the Oak Island Lighthouse have been running the landmark since it was given to the Town of Caswell Beach in 2004.

It takes 131 steps for Bob Ahlers to get visitors to the top.

“It’s beautiful,” Ahlers said. “I’ve climbed over 1,200 times.”

Ahlers is the chairman of FOIL. He has taken people on tours for more than 10 years now climbing and listening to their stories.

“People schedule their vacations around lighthouses,” Ahlers said.

Bryan Broomfield and his family are doing that this week.

“We’ve been up and down the North Carolinian Coast and tried to see all 11 of them,” Broomfield said.

As you climb this one, you may notice it needs some work.

“One is the three cracks that run the length of the lighthouse,” Ahlers said.

That causes the lighthouse to flood with rain.

“We have some rust forming on the railing at the top,” Ahlers said.

Ahlers said that is a safety concern.

“Then we have some rebar that’s sticking up on the outside of the lighthouse,” Ahlers said.

He said these issues are not significant right now, but they will be.

“Once the rebar is rusted through, it compromises its integrity and the lighthouse could then form larger cracks which would then be structurally significant and could cause it to fall over,” Ahlers said.

Volunteers have raised about $50,000 through donations and merchandise sales, but they asked the Town of Caswell Beach for more help.

“Since we need to get these done now, the town was gracious enough to grant us a guaranteed no interest loan of $50,000,” Ahlers said.
It may take a few extra steps of fundraising to pay back, but it is a climb Ahlers said they need to take so everyone can keep climbing to see what it is like to get to the top.

“It’s always a calming experience once you get to the top,” Ahlers said.

Ahlers said construction will begin sometime after the tourism season as early as october.

The tours are free, but he says the volunteers depend on the donations to maintain the building.