Ocean clouds

Oregon Inlet, North Carolina

Saturday Morning

Cedar Hill Cemetery - Vicksburg, Mississippi

Travels: Currituck Beach Lighthouse #3

Light Keepers Quarters - Corolla, North Carolina 

Nathaniel G. Burris was the first head light keeper at the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. In addition to maintaining and operating the light, the light keepers helped out in rescue operations whenever there was a shipwreck nearby. Burris writes in the logbook:

"November 26, 1877 - Some bodies from the wreck of 'Huron' came ashore near this station. More came on the 27, 28, and 29. The light keepers helped bury them."

"January 31, 1878 - About 11AM I was informed there was a wreck on shore below here. I immediately hastened to the spot. We did all we could to save the passengers and crew and afterwards minister to their wants. The vessel is a total wreck and most of the cargo lost. Near a hundred of the passengers and crew remained and were fed at this station."

This smaller house was moved to the grounds in the 1920s to house the 3rd Assistant Light Keeper. After the lighthouse was electrified and automated there was no need for an on-site light keeper and  the buildings and grounds fell into near ruin. Restoration began in 1980.

Currituck Beach Lighthouse is still in service as an active aid to navigation.

Much of the information in this post, including the quotations from the light keeper's log, came from the November/December 2012 issue of  Lighthouse Digest.

Travels: Currituck Beach Lighthouse #2

Corolla, North Carolina 

Above: the view of Currituck Sound from the top of the lighthouse.

Left: Climbing the iron stairs to the top.

Below: Looking down on the grounds from the top of the lighthouse. The large house in the center housed the keeper and assistant keeper. The smaller building on the right was a dwelling for a third keeper. On the left is a small storage building.

Travels: Currituck Beach Lighthouse #1

Corolla, North Carolina

The treacherous waters off the coast of North Carolina's Outer Banks have earned the name "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because thousands of unlucky ships and sailors have met their end there. After the Civil War, shipping increased along this dangerous route and the need for better navigational aids was recognized.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse, also known as the Corolla Lighthouse, was completed under the supervision of Dexter Stetson, who had also overseen the construction of  the Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras lighthouses. The first order light shone over the Atlantic for the first time on December 1, 1875.

"Currituck" is derived from a Poteskeet Indian word meaning "the land of the wild goose."

The lighthouse, seen here from Currituck Sound, stands 162 feet tall and is visible 18 miles out to sea.

Third Sunday - April, 2013

 Albemarle County, Virginia

 Gentry United Methodist Church - 1846

Spring Cardinal

Juvenile Cardinal - Greene County, Virginia 

Third Sunday is coming up this weekend and we will be posting pictures of the Gentry United Methodist Church in Albemarle County, Virginia. Stop by on Sunday to see this country church building which dates from 1846.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading Photography In Place.