Congress appropriated $50,000 on March 3, 1873 to commence the construction of the lighthouse and followed this up with appropriations of $70,000 in 1874 and $20,000 in 1875 to complete the project. After the desired site was purchased, the State of North Carolina ceded jurisdiction over the parcel to the federal government in November 1873. Dexter Stetston, who had previously overseen the construction of the towers at Cape Hatteras and Bodie Island, began work on the 162-foot tower in 1874. Piles, spaced nearly three feet apart, were driven to a depth of roughly twenty-four feet and then capped by twelve by twelve-inch timbers treenailed to the tops of the piles. A second set of timbers was laid at right angles to the first to form a grillage atop which an octagonal stone base was built. Well over a million bricks were then used to form the conical tower, and on December 1, 1875, the last brick lighthouse to be built on the Outer Banks was illuminated for the first time by Nathaniel G. Burris, its first keeper. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is known as a first order lighthouse, which means it has the largest of seven Fresnel lens sizes. With a 20-second flash cycle (on for 3 seconds, off for 17 seconds), the light can be seen for 18 nautical miles. The distinctive sequence enables the lighthouse not only to warn mariners but also to help identify their locations. Like the other lighthouses on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, this one still serves as an aid to navigation. The beacon comes on automatically every evening at dusk and ceases at dawn. Currituck is the 12th tallest lighthouse in the United States.
Lighthouse Facts
Number of steps: 220
Height to focal plane of lens: 158 feet
Height to top of roof: 162 feet
Number of bricks: approximately one million
Thickness of wall at base: 5 feet 8 inches
Thickness of wall at parapet: 3 feet
Position: 34 miles south of the Cape Henry Lighthouse (VA)
32 1/2 miles north-northwest of Bodie Island Lighthouse
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