Biography on bald head lighthouse history

As you pull into the harbor on Bald Head Island, you’re treated to a sight that’s remained unchanged for more than 200 years.

The Old Baldy lighthouse has risen over the treetops since it was completed and first lit in 1817, a stoic reminder of the island’s role in maritime navigation since well before the Civil War.

Today, it is the oldest still-standing lighthouse in the state, but it’s not the first beacon to watch over the island.

To tell that story, you have to turn the clock back to 1789, when President George Washington signed an act decreeing the federal government would establish and oversee lighthouses along the country’s coasts.

Little did he and Congress know, in Southeastern North Carolina, they were already one step ahead.

After gaining their freedom from the British crown in the Revolutionary War, North Carolinians knew that commerce and trade would be essential to building a thriving economy – and the state’s coast wa