THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995                   TAG: 9506300183
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST           PAGE: 05   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Cover Story 
SOURCE: Lane DeGregory
                                             LENGTH: Short :   49 lines

THE LIGHTHOUSE IS A BEAM OF HOPE FOR SAILORS PASSING THROUGH TREACHEROUS SEAS AND SHOALS.

A major shipping channel since the early 1700s, the ocean just off North Carolina's barrier islands also is extremely dangerous for seamen.

The Gulf Stream comes precariously close to shore near Cape Hatteras, pinching an inshore current about 10 miles off Buxton. That current forces southbound ships into a narrow passage around Diamond Shoals. The shoals are submerged fingers of sand that migrate with storms and tides.

Wreckage of more than 500 ships from many nations is scattered along the Outer Banks' treacherous shores.

In 1794, the U.S. Congress authorized construction of a permanent lighthouse at Cape Hatteras to help boat captains navigate around the sharp shoals. Nearly a decade passed before a single sperm whale oil lamp was illuminated from atop the 90-foot tower in October 1803. Even then, its thin beam barely penetrated the dark nights.

Sea captains complained about the faint light's unreliability. In the mid-1850s, workers raised the tower to 150 feet and installed a more powerful lighting device: a first-order Fresnel lens. With prisms and magnifying glasses, the newly designed lens intensified a small oilwick flame into a powerful beacon.

Civil War soldiers embroiled the lighthouse in many battles, because its beams were necessary guideposts for ships from both sides. Union forces managed to save the tower during an 1861 skirmish. But retreating Confederates stole the Fresnel lens. The lighthouse was left dark - and badly damaged.

Congress appropriated $75,000 to reconstruct the Cape Hatteras structure in 1867. Recognizing the danger of encroaching erosion, a new lighthouse was built 600 feet north of the original tower.

The new beacon beamed forth on Dec. 16, 1870.

Towering 208 feet above the ocean - and still standing in the same spot, for now - it contains 268 spiraling stairs and more than a million bricks. It cost taxpayers more than $150,000. Its two rotating, 1,000-watt lamps reach about 20 miles offshore.

In clear weather, the Cape Hatteras light has been seen from 51 miles at sea. MEMO: Main story about Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on page 4. by CNB