#TBT: Greetings from Old Baldy!
BALD HEAD ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — This week on Throwback Thursday, it’s greetings from Old Baldy! The Bald Head Island lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse in North Carolina.
On August 7, 1789, the U.S. Lighthouse Act, passed by the First Congress of the United States, was signed into law by George Washington. This placed the nation’s lighthouses under their authority and showed just how important the nation’s rivers and ocean were to 18th century life, as these were the region’s primary transportation routes. Lighthouses and other navigational aids guided vessels in the waterways.
Bald Head Island’s first lighthouse was funded by the 1789 act and completed in 1795. It was torn down in 1813. Its replacement, known as “Old Baldy,” was built in 1817 and is the oldest surviving lighthouse in North Carolina.
Old Baldy has changed quite a bit over the years, as new technologies such as the Fresnel lens have been added to better illuminate the waters. Regardless of those technological changes, it has stood as a constant beacon and navigational aid, shining on mariners through nearly two centuries of both peace and war.
Special thanks to the Cape Fear Museum for providing photos and background on the lighthouse.
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