Cape Hatteras
Lighthouse
The Cape Hatteras lighthouse was moved in the summer of 1999, and we were lucky enough to be there.
We made our vacation plans in the spring, and picked a week when we thought it might be "in transit". It turned out to be a great time. We got to watch the journey over several days. Here are some pictures of the move, all taken by me (Steven) or Laura Honaker.
Click on any of the pictures for a larger view. A new window will pop up. Just close that window to get back here.
Any questions or comments? email at anaiselise@labyrinth.net
This is the lighthouse from around 1990. You can see here that the ocean has gotten pretty close. Several projects have been tried to protect the shoreline. The small hill beside the lighthouse is actually made of huge sandbags. The dark line going into the ocean is a steel groin, a wall that helps collect and stabilize the sand.
Here the lighthouse's foundation is being excavated during the spring. The steel beams shown will be used later during the move. It took several months to cut through the granite foundation under the lighthouse. The lighthouse and foundation were originally built on top of a wooden framework. If saltwater had been able to get into the wood, it could have weakened very quickly.
You can see the steel beams underneath the lighthouse. They made a mat of steel on the ground, then bolted rails onto the mat. Rollers were placed between the lighthouse and the rails. The lighthouse was pushed along the rails by hydraulic jacks. As the lighthouse moved along, they picked up the mat and rails from behind the lighthouse, and moved it around to the front.
They are piecing together the steelwork in front of the lighthouse here. The "Lighthouse Crossing" sign was put up because they were crossing the road into the parking lot.
A good view of the steel rails. You can also see some daylight peeking through underneath the lighthouse. Wonder how I got such a close-up picture? Well, the Park Service had some fences put up around the site to keep people out. The workers were talking with the onlookers across the fence, answering questions, and describing the move. One day I noticed that they were letting people come onto the move site to push the lever that controlled the pushing jacks! I asked, but it was too late to do it that day. The next day, my beloved sister, Leela, asked one of the workers if her brother, (me), could come over the fence to take some pictures. He said, "Sure", gave me a hard hat, and let me jump over the fence! I walked around for about 15 minutes, checking everything out, crawling underneath the lighthouse, looking around and taking pictures. He told us to come back the next day for a better tour.
These are the jacks that pushed the lighthouse. They are about five feet long, and made a push in about a minute. It didn't take long to get ready for the next push. It took longer to get the steel mat and rails ready in front of the lighthouse.
One of the rollers. There are big roller bearings inside of the green housing. Each roller had a hydraulic jack between it and the lighthouse's supporting framework. The jacks were all controlled by computers that equalized the load among the rollers. You can see several more rollers behind this one. One hundred rollers were used.
Underneath the framework. This shows some of the hydraulic lines. They used vegetable oil in the hydraulic system, in case they spilled any of the fluid. They also used Ivory soap as a lubricant on the main rails!
The control area behind the lighthouse. The gauges go to the individual roller jacks. The white box holds a computer screen showing the monitoring equipment. They had sensors all over the lighthouse. In case the computer failed, they had a weight hanging from a string running inside the lighthouse from top to bottom. I guess that would show any tilting if the main computers quit.
I couldn't go the next day, so Leela and my daughter Laura went on the grand tour. They were having some problems with the rollers, so the workers were pretty busy. Leela finally got one of the general contractor's representatives to help her out.
He gave Leela and Laura hardhats, then took them all around the site. He told them all about the move. As the tour came to an end, Leela said what had been on her mind the whole time, "Is there any way we can climb to the top?"
Their guide said he didn't want to, but another representative said he would! Off they went, up the stairs! They weren't able to go out on the balcony, but went into the room with the light. Here are pictures showing where the lighthouse has just come from, and where it is going. I was amazed that the people doing the move were so open and helpful. We all thank them for a truly "once-in-a-lifetime" experience. The Park Service had volunteers describing the moving process, and answering questions, too. I wish I could put down all the interesting facts they told us.
The actual light in the Cape Hatteras lighthouse! If you look carefully, you can see the horizon reflected upside-down inside it.
A view of the hole left behind from the excavation. They returned all the original foundation material, then re-filled the hole. (See picture below.)
This tripod is at the center of the new foundation.
Some of the workers put spare change on the rails. The coins were squashed flat as the lighthouse moved over them! They gave the coins to onlookers. A pretty cool souvenir!
The lighthouse from the beach, near it's new location.
The lighthouse has been moved to it's final location here. Along the right side of the picture, you can see where it bumped up against the STOP sign! After they moved the lighthouse here, they filled in a new foundation of bricks over a concrete slab. That took several months. This picture was taken by Linda Grimes.
This is the circle of old foundation stones showing the original location. They have engraved the stones with the names of lighthouse keepers. I expect the lighthouse's path will gradually fill in with natural growth.
Sunset behind the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, safe in its new location.
A picture taken in the harbor at Ocracoke. I know, it doesn't have anything to do with the lighthouse, but it is pretty!
Click here to see an animated GIF view of the lighthouse in motion!
Well, that is what we saw on our trips to the lighthouse. Of course, there is a lot more information about it on the web. The best site I've found is the Cape Hatteras National Seashore site. WRAL TV has a good site. too. Thanks for stopping by! If you have a few minutes, check out the rest of our internet site!
Here are some comments that I have received about this page. (Thank you very much!) E-mail me if you like.
- Visited your web site and just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to do it. Didn't get to visit while construction was in progress so your pictures from all angles really helped me understand what I could not........How in this world could they do that? Have been visiting the outer banks since early 1950's when my father would take me there in an old model A-Ford with big soft tires....no 4 wheel drive vehicles back then you know. It was a trek of considerable difficulty as the OLE A Model wasn't very fast on the road and we had to take ferries acrossed both the Chesapeake Bay and Organ inlet to even get to hatteras Island, then usually we continued on to fish on Ocracoke island via Capt. Peel's very tiny ferry. The old Hatteras light was for my brother and me the signal to, as perhaps kids still do, yell out. Are we almost there? Yes, the old light conjures up lots of memories for me, and I'm delighted they saved the gallant old gal, and I'm especially grateful to have had the opportunity, through your efforts, to witness the event vicariously. Thanks,,,,,,,Norm , in Delaware
- My wife and I really enjoyed the Hatteras part in your site. We are lighthouse nuts. We wanted so much to see the move but both tied up. Thanks to you we feel like we were there the whole time. Thanks again TS and GS
- Hi, Just wanted to thank you for having the photos of the moving of the lighthouse. I searched Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and your page came up. We just got back from the Outer Banks last week. What a great trip. We went to the lighthouse one day and were surprised to see it was moved. We were dying to know how they moved it. Thank you for showing me.
- Enjoyed your site...I currently live in Charlotte...an antique dealer and also sell antiques online..love e-commerce! I have property in Buxton...regarless of the NEW location...I will always be able to see the light flickering in my window! However, being born and raised on the Island...my childhood memories will always remain at the Old location. Again..I enjoyed your site...nice to just click a key and see HOME! Thanks! C.J.R.
- 20 years vacations in hatteras..hate the new location of the lighthouse...not the same...no longer a view from my deck. like you web site..great pictures of the move P.M
- Hi, I love your web page, Kevin and I accidently came across the actual move of the lighthouse on our vacation in July of 1999,we were in awe of the magnificent move and thought it was such a great idea to save such a beautiful and historic lighthouse.Ever since I have been collecting memorabilla and wanting to learn more about the move,We thank you for sharing your pictures with us and we envy your ability to capture the beauty of the move. Thanks, Penny & Kevin
- Your site was really neat. My family regularly visits Cape Hatteras and just happened to be down there when they were moving the lighthouse. It was neat to see up close the way they moved the lihgthouse. It was also cool to see those pictures of WV. Jess
- Thanks for sharing your pictures and video. My family visited the Lighthouse during the move, also. We stayed at Avon for a week and went down to see the lighthouse three times during our stay. I love lighthouses anyway so that was a real treat to see it move. We made pictures and a video too. My kids kinda got bored because I would want to stay so long each time we went to watch it move. We had seen it about six years earlier on another visit. We had a scare one day when our, then 6 year old, son got lost from us in those trees. My husband, our other son who was 16 at the time and I searched for what seemed like forever until my husband finally found him. But all in all it was a wonderful trip. Thanks again for giving others a view of history in the making. Becky in NC
- Thank you for your web site on the moving of Hatteras Light. I watched all the cameras and animation on-line while it was being moved, but look forward to seeing it in person at its new site this summer. JDR
- Yes,My family was there. I recall it well, it was grandpa's brithday(June 18,1999)he died 3 years earler.It will always hold a place in our heart's. Thanks for the pictures.
- What a lovely tribute to the move! Three of us climbed the lighthouse today, and the view is still truly spectacular. You are so right about the Park Service Volunteers. They are the absolute best......The Paramedic Group from PA
- My first visit to the lighthouse was back in 1991 and I was taken back on how big & beautiful it was. I always wondered how it remained standing after the monsterous storms that have blown through Hatteras over the years. I guess when something is built correctly and has the strength to withstand almost anything, it's a "given" that it will remain the beacon that so many have used as their salvation.
Since 1991, I have made several trips back to Hatteras and the lighthouse looked strong as usual. However, each year I noticed how the ocean was
creeping up. I knew that there were plans in the making to move it, however, I never thought I would see the day! In September 1999, I made yet another trip. I remember riding in the car thinking, "I don't see the lighthouse." Then I remembered it was moved. Much to my surprise, when we finally made our way into park, I realized that you no longer can make a lefthand turn to see it! Then, out of the forest, there it stood! I was surprised to see how far away from the ocean it was moved.
I commend the contractors who did such a wonderful job!
Oh yeah, as far as your site is concerned, I THINK IT'S GREAT!!! I have it saved in my favorite places so I can check in from time-to-time.
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK AND THANKS FOR SHARING!!!
Darlene
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