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Historic Significance Score: 5
The Bodie (pronounced body) Island Lighthouse was established in 1848, after hundreds of ships met their fate on the dangerous shoals off the waters of North Carolina's Outer Banks. So many ships were shipwrecked in this area, estimated over 600 in total, it was dubbed "The Graveyard of the Atlantic."
The Bodie Island Lighthouse's history has been one of immediate difficulty and then perseverance.
The building of the first light tower met a delay of a decade while it was determined where the lighthouse would be established. When the location was finally set, a very cost conscience Auditor of the Treasury, Stephen Pleasonton, conflicted and knocked heads with the builder Francis Gibbons over how to build the lighthouse and what materials to use.
In the end the government had the final say and costs were cut everywhere including the light beacon chosen and the materials used in the lighthouse's foundation. As a result of this, within a a few years after completion the foundation of the original light buckled, and the lighthouse started to tilt.
Learning from the mistakes of the past, a second Bodie Lighthouse was built in 1859 with a very sound foundation and a Fresnel lens. Unfortunately, this light would see the start of the American Civil War a few years after it was established. In 1861, Confederate soldiers on a covert operation entered the lighthouse area and blew up the tower to prevent the Union Army from using this as a navigation aid or lookout tower.
Both of these first two light towers were actually established a few miles south of the lighthouse's current location, actually on Pea Island, and this original location since has given away to erosion.
Finally in 1872, the present day Bodie Lighthouse was completed courtesy of a $140,000 grant from the Federal Government. This present light was designed by architect Dexter Stetson, who also built the current Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. In the true historic heritage of this light, the present tower was also met with adversity right at the beginning as geese flew into the light tower and severely damaged the lens.
Recently, this historic light was transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the National Park Service in July of 2000.
Sadly, this great beacon is in desperate need of internal repair. It was listed on the Doomsday List of Lights in September of 2000.
Majesty Score: 5
The Majesty Score of Lighthouse Ratings.com was meant for a light like this!
Even when considering this tower is 170 feet tall, this light actually carries itself much larger than its physical height when one sees it in person! Photographs will not do it justice!
There are very few lighthouses in America that you can spot from miles and miles away in your car and, similar to its well known counterpart to the south, Bodie Island is one of these few.
This visibility of the light tower is set up by the flat geographic characteristics of the Outer Banks, the height of this tower itself and the lack of buildings on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS).
One of our all time favorite views of any lighthouse in America is the view seen when traveling over the Oregon Inlet bridge headed north on a clear day.
The elevation of the bridge sprawls out in front of you a beautiful cross-section of the Outer Banks (CHNS), with beautiful greens and blues as far as the eye can see. In this view, standing ruggedly on your left, is the majestic Bodie Island Lighthouse watching over the landscape. If this score deals with awe inspiring, this is where it should start!
Water View Score: 2
Unfortunately, water can not be seen from the base of the tower. As a note of information, all four northern-most lighthouses on the Outer Banks (Currituck Beach, Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke) do not have a water view from the base.
The Bodie Island Lighthouse is surrounded by statuesque pine trees and beautiful marsh land with the wild life that accompanies it. There is a small elevated stair lookout on the border of the Bodie Island Lighthouse property that when climbed gives you a nice view of the marshes.
Preservation Score: 4
This is a very difficult category to score on this light. Aesthetically, the Bodie Island Lighthouse and visitor center looks pristinely preserved - as nice as a lighthouse can be presented.
The difficultly comes into play when considering the light's severe structural problems.
A score of 4 was arrived at when considering both these factors.
This contradicting situation in itself might present a problem for this light as the physical appearance of this light does not really relay the severity of the structural situation to visitors.
We fear some casual visitors won't understand the need to give donations when visiting this light if they do not take the time to read the information in the keeper's house. To reinforce this point, after visiting the Bodie Lighthouse we read some comments made by several structural engineers on the light. It seemed like they were speaking about a different light from what we saw.
Please remember this critical situation when visiting this light and give generously.
Surrounding Area: 5
The Bodie Island Lighthouse can be seen as the official northern greeter to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is seen within minutes of entering the seashore by car.
The CHNS features miles and miles of sand dunes and marsh lands that Route NC 12 cuts through the length of it with summer towns popping up on occasion.
The lighthouse is within close proximity of the towns Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills. These towns are a little more tourist friendly when compared to what you will find south of this location on the Outer Banks and feature a better selection of lodging and restaurants.
The Wright Brothers' National Monument is in Kill Devil Hills, marking where they first took flight, and is worth a stop.
Accessibility Score: 4
The accessibility of this lighthouse is very good. The light keeper's house has been turned into a 2 room visitors' center. One room is a museum, one room is a gift shop with some really nice items.
Although the tower is not open for climbing, volunteers do give up their time to open the tower and let visitors go inside the base of the tower. From this vantage point you can see the unique stairs ascending up the tower. Admission to the site is free.
There are some plans in the future to open the tower for climbing to visitors upon restoration.
Beacon Score: 5
Bodie Island Light is one of the very few lighthouses that feature an active 1st order Fresnel lens! It is a thing of beauty to see whether the sun is glistening off of it during the day, or the lens is lighting up the night in the evening.
This size lens is a extremely rare thing and really should be appreciated.
The lens flashes a white light every 2.5 seconds, then goes dark for 2.5 seconds, then another 2.5 seconds on, then waits 22.5 seconds to begin the cycle again.
The Coast Guard announced plans in early 2003 to replace Bodie Lighthouse's first-order Fresnel lens with a present day optic due to the rate of deterioration that the glass lens is experiencing in its current lantern room. Preservation groups and trying to keep the historic lens in its lantern room through raising money to repair the deterioration.
The Coast Guard has conveyed that if the lens must be removed, their intention is to keep the lens on site.
Overall Score and Overview: 30
When considering Bodie Island as a lighthouse it encompasses everything that one thinks of in their mind's eye when thinking of a great lighthouse. Its awe inspiring majesty, surrounding area, history and active 1st order Fresnel lens is everything one could want with a lighthouse experience.
Located in Nags Head, N.C., it is one of the more tourist accessible lighthouses of the Outer Banks in regard to its location and driving time from the main access roads and should not be missed!
Directions: The lighthouse is accessible off of NC 12; six miles south of Whaleborn Junction or four miles north of the Oregon Inlet Bridge.
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