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The Whalehead Club at Currituck Heritage Park
Corolla, NC
Website:
http://www.whaleheadclub.org
COROLLA
WILD HORSES
The Corolla Wild Horses are Spanish mustangs that roam the Currituck Outer Banks. The links below will
take you to sources and websites where you will see pictures of the Corolla Wild Horses in their Outer Banks habitat; learn
how they survive the hot sand, freezing winds, brackish water, coarse grasses, and salt spray; and discover how you can help
the small band of 60 horses continue to roam freely on the North Carolina Outer Banks. You will also learn about the threat
of their extinction and how you can help.
Website:
http://www.co.currituck.nc.us/leisure/attractions/corollawildhorses.aspx
Corolla
Chapel
Both the quaint Corolla Chapel (built in 1885) and the Corolla Schoolhouse (built in 1890) have been restored.
Inter-denominational services are held at the Chapel on Sundays. Corolla Chapel is located 2 1/2 blocks north of the Currituck
Lighthouse at 1135 Old Corolla Village Road. Call 252-453-4224.
Wright Brothers National Memorial
They Taught
the World to Fly!
Wind, sand, and a dream of flight brought Wilbur and Orville Wright to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where
after four years of experimentation, they achieved the first successful airplane flights in 1903. With courage and perseverance
these self-taught engineers relied on teamwork and application of the scientific process. What they achieved changed our world
forever.
Website:
http://www.nps.gov/wrbr/
THE LOST COLONY
A 400 year-old mystery haunts Roanoke Island
on North Carolina's Outer Banks. There, in 1587, about 120 men, women and children established the first English colony in
the New World, then vanished without a trace, leaving historians and archaeologists with one of America's most perplexing
mysteries.
Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green, The Lost Colony tells their story in the
dramatic setting of historic Waterside Theatre on Roanoke Island. Now in its 69th season, The Lost Colony has been attended
by millions and brings all the elements of family entertainment together for an unforgettable evening under the stars.
Website:
http://www.thelostcolony.org/
Whalehead Club Link
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Currituck Beach Lighthouse/OBC
Twenty years ago, the
Currituck Beach Lighthouse was in need of repair. The nonprofit Outer Banks Conservationists (OBC) was created to preserve
the lighthouse when no one else was willing to step in and restore the national landmark. Since then, the OBC has spent more
than two decades and nearly 1.5 million from private dollars restoring, maintaining and operating the lighthouse. The OBC
opened the lighthouse to the public in 1991.
THE CURRITUCK BEACH LIGHT STATION
On December 1, 1875 the beacon of the
Currituck Beach Lighthouse filled the remaining "dark spot" on the North Carolina coast between the Cape Henry light to the
north and Bodie Island to the south. To distinguish the Currituck Beach Lighthouse from other regional lighthouses, its exterior
was left unpainted and gives today's visitor a sense of the multitude of bricks used to form the structure. The lighthouse
was automated in 1939 when the United States Coast Guard assumed the duties of the Bureau of Lighthouses. At a height of 158
feet, the night beacon still flashes at 20-second intervals to warn ships hugging the chain of barrier islands along the coast.
The Lighthouse Keepers' House, a Victorian "stick style" dwelling, was constructed from pre-cut and labeled materials
which were shipped by the U.S. Lighthouse Board on a barge and then assembled on site. In 1876, when the Keepers' House was
completed, two keepers and their families shared the duplex in the isolated seaside setting. The keepers were removed after
the Lighthouse was automated and attendants were no longer needed to clean the lenses, trim the wicks, fuel the lamp, and
wind the clockwork mechanism which rotated the beacon.
By the late 1970s, the Lighthouse Keepers' House stood open
to the elements with no windows or doors; porches had decayed and vines invaded the north side. Much of the interior millwork
had been vandalized. Concerned about the preservation of the historic property, Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc., a private
non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the character of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, signed a lease
with the State of North Carolina in 1980 to begin a phased restoration of the property. The lease charged the group with the
responsibility of restoring the Keepers' House and improving the historic compound.
Today, the grounds and walkways
are rejuvenated and the exterior of the Keepers' House is nearly complete, but the phased restoration of the interior remains
a considerable undertaking. Although plaster walls and pine floors have been repaired, vandalized wainscoting replaced, and
the mahogany balustrades replicated, reproduction doors and hardware must be made and installed and interior finishes applied.
OBC worked with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources to restore the smaller (and possibly older) dwelling on
the north side of the complex. This house was probably moved to the site around 1920 as a residence for a third keeper and
his family. The structure is now open from Easter through Thanksgiving as a Museum Shop offering models of Outer Banks lighthouses,
books and other lighthouse and wild horse-related items.
Other historic structures located within the lighthouse
compound include an outhouse and a storage building. The two-hole privy has been repaired and the storage building with its
four sharp finials has been restored and now serves as the lighthouse staff office. The two louvered structures flanking the
Keepers' House are cisterns which store rain water.
OBC has broad-based support from donations and sponsorships. An
annual sponsorship is $25 for an individual and $50 for a family. Each sponsorship includes a number of free visits
and an annual Newsletter. Donations are fully tax-deductible and sponsorships are deductible to the extent allowable by the
IRS. Funds are used for historic preservation and conservation projects, including the restoration and maintenance of the
Currituck Beach Light Station. For further information, contact the OBC site manager, at 252-453-8152.
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LIGHTHOUSE FACTS
Number of steps: 214
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 (Virginia) Lighthouse 32 1/2 miles north-northwest of Bodie Island Lighthouse
Coast Survey Chart: 36° 22'36" N latitude, 75° 49'51" W longitude. As it had reported in previous years,
the U.S. Light-House Board in 1872 stated that ships, cargoes, and lives continued to be lost along the 40 miles of dark coastline
that lay beyond the reaches of existing lighthouses. Southbound ships sailing closer to shore to avoid the Gulf Stream were
especially in danger. In response, construction began on the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in 1873 with completion two years
later.
The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is known as a first order lighthouse, which means it has the largest of seven
Fresnel lens sizes. The original source of light was a U.S. mineral oil lamp consisting of five concentric wicks; the largest
was 4 inches in diameter.
Before the advent of electricity, a mechanical means was required to rotate the huge lenses
that made the light appear to flash. A system of weights suspended from a line powered a clockwork mechanism beneath the lantern--much
like the workings of a grandfather clock. The keeper cranked the weights up by hand every two and a half hours.
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.
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.
The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was the last major brick lighthouse built
on the Outer Banks.
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CLIMB
TO THE TOP
The Currituck Beach Lighthouse and Museum Shop are open daily from Easter through Thanksgiving (closed Thanksgiving
Day). During periods of high winds or thunderstorms the lighthouse tower may be closed to climbers. Winter months provide
time for restoration and maintenance. Telephone 252/453-4939 for lighthouse hours and information.
WEBSITE:
http://www.currituckbeachlight.com/index.php
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