A tower with a moving history
The lighthouse you see today isn't the first one on this spot. An earlier 90-foot sandstone tower, built in 1803, proved too weak to warn ships away from the offshore Diamond Shoals — the shifting sandbars that gave this stretch of coast its grim nickname, the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." The current tower replaced it, officially completed and first lit in December 1870.
Built from roughly 1.25 million bricks, it stands about 198.5 feet tall — around 210 feet including its foundation — making it the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. Its unmistakable black-and-white spiral "barber pole" daymark, first painted in 1873, helped sailors tell it apart from the Outer Banks' other lighthouses at a glance.
The 1999 move
Photo: National Park Service, public domain
By the 1990s, decades of beach erosion had brought the Atlantic dangerously close to the tower's foundation. In the summer of 1999, the National Park Service moved the entire 4,800-ton structure 2,900 feet inland — one of the largest building relocations ever attempted — to the safer spot where it stands today.
Visiting the grounds
Even with climbing paused, the lighthouse grounds are open 24 hours a day and worth the short drive from Avon. The site includes the lighthouse itself, the Principal Keepers' Quarters (now the Museum of the Sea, run by the National Park Service), and paved circular pathways through fresh landscaping completed as part of the restoration project. It's a quiet, shaded stop that works well paired with the nearby Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras Village.
When climbing does reopen, tickets are sold in advance through Recreation.gov, climbers must be at least 42 inches tall and under 260 lbs, and reaching the top means 257 steps — worth the climb for a 360-degree view over the Atlantic and the Pamlico Sound.
Nearby
- Buxton's guarded beach — the island's one lifeguarded beach, staffed Memorial Day through Labor Day, a short walk from the lighthouse grounds
- Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum — shipwreck and Life-Saving Service history, near the Hatteras ferry docks about 15 minutes further south
- Buxton Woods Coastal Reserve — shaded maritime-forest hiking trails, a cool break from the sand
Make a day of it: explore Frisco nearby — mini golf, ice cream, and the Frisco Native American Museum are just a few minutes further south.