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  One
hundred years ago Currituck Beach Light Station, with its
grand three-story
Victorian Keeper's house and tall lighthouse,
stood surrounded by little more than sandy soil and open
sky. Now the light station
is completely surrounded by trees. The lighthouse grounds,
with its narrow brick walkways and lush grass, are meticulously
maintained
and manicured, seen in the photo at right looking down from atop the lighthouse. The setting is unlike any of the
other lighthouses on North
Carolina's coast. The quiet serenity of this location gives it
the feel of a real home. |
 The
storage building situated next to the public entrance is shown in the photos
at left, right, and below right. It has been restored, and now serves as
an office for the
lighthouse
staff.
The
four
sharp
finials
are a distinctive touch to the Victorian styling, remaining true to the
design of
the Keeper's
house and the workroom building at the lighthouse entrance. Even the shape
of the building, small though it is, echoes the layout of the Keeper's
house. Such attention to detail adds invaluably to the overall unity of
the grounds
appearance.
  The
smaller Keeper's house at the light station, shown at left, was originally
built in the 1870's at the Long Point Light Station on Currituck Sound.
It was
moved to this light station in 1920 to serve as the principal Keeper's
house, while the assistant Keeper's families lived in the duplex. It is
also in
the Victorian style, like the other buildings. It now serves as the gift
shop,
as well as offering some historical displays. |
 The
showpiece among the companion buildings to the
Currituck Beach Lighthouse is the duplex
Keeper's house. After
being abandoned
and open to
the elements for many years, left
derelict
and vandalized of much of its finer interior woodwork,
this grand house is being restored to its original
Victorian splendor. Each side of the house had a dining room, kitchen, and parlor
on the first floor. Each side of the second floor had three bedrooms, and the
third floor was a finished attic, which could be used as additional bedrooms
or other
living space.
The exterior is completed,
and stands proudly as an example of the efforts
of the non-profit Outer
Banks Conservationists, Inc., who have brought
this fabulous three-story home back to life. The well-kept grounds add much
to the beauty of this light station, as seen below in this photo of one of
the restored louvered cisterns, which are located at either end of the house.
 The
structure is a "stick style" building, built
of precut and labeled lumber that was shipped
to the light station and then assembled on-site.
The Victorian decorative brackets, finials and
other embellishments give the house an elegant
charm that rivals that of the craftsmanship of
the lighthouse itself. In the photo of the gable above, note the owl mounted
by the third floor window, which serves to ward birds away from roosting
on the gable trim.
OuterBanksGuidebook.com is pleased to
offer these exclusive photos of parts of the
interior of the duplex Keeper's house. The restoration of the duplex Keeper's
house exterior provides a beautiful example of the grand Victorian style. The
restoration underway on the interior is an ongoing project. The Keeper's house
presently serves as a residence for the current lighthouse keepers while
it is being restored. Until the restoration is complete, and appropriate period
furnishings are in place, no historical interpretation can be accomplished.
Thus the house is not yet open to the public. The exclusive photos seen here
are not meant to be indicative of a truly historical interpretation of life
in the Keeper's house. They do, however, give some taste of the elegant woodwork
and grand space of this historic structure.
 
The owl seen outside the window in the exterior photo
above can be seen also in these two views of the northeast third
floor room (left and right photos). It is part of the finished attic space,
which actually provided more useful living space than might be imagined when
looking at it from the outside. This room has a
view
of the lighthouse,
as
seen
in the left photo. |
 These
stairs lead to the third
floor finished attic space from the second floor hallway.
At left is a view looking up the north
side stairs, and at right is a view looking down the
south
side stairs. During restoration, the handwritten names "J.W.
Austin" and "P.B.
Austin",
with
the
date "May 18, 1914" was discovered on the wall just
above the door at the bottom
of the stairs in
the photo at right. A close-up photo of this historical "graffiti" is
also at right.
The date is during the time Keeper Riley William
Austin lived here with his wife and seven children.
The main staircases for both the north side and south
side of the duplex are seen here at left. At the bottom of each staircase
are individual hallways connecting
the front and back doors for each half of the two family house.
 At
right is a photo of the north side second floor hallway, looking into one of
the bedrooms. The second floor bedrooms were surprisingly spacious, as was
the third floor attic space.
Seen at left is the main hallway
of the south end, looking at the front door, which
faces westward toward the sound. At the other end of
this hallway sits a large lantern, by the back door.
This is an authentic original U.S. Lighthouse Society
issue
lantern used for outside illumination (for the yard),
but it is not original to this location.
The photo
seen at right hangs on the east wall of the present dining room. It is the
wedding picture of Homer Treadwell and Orphia Midgett Austin, who served as the Keepers of Currituck
Beach
Lighthouse from 1928 to 1936.
Also in the dining room, next to the fireplace, is the three drawer chest and attending items shown at left.
Surprisingly, each
side of the duplex has its own cellar, which is accessed from inside the house.
One of the cellar doors is seen in the photo at right. Note its brass pull ring and
key lock.
To close out this tour of the
Currituck Beach Lighthouse, take a look at these photos
at left and below. These show
some
of
the
many views
of
the lighthouse that can be enjoyed from the Whalehead
Club
property.
The Whalehead Club is directly adjacent
to the south side of the light station.
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Navigate
to individual lighthouse pages with these
buttons.
     
Currituck Beach Lighthouse
- Page
One
Related Links -
Scenic Places -
Historic Corolla
Official Currituck
Beach Lighthouse web site
Inside
the Fresnel Lens - National
Park Service photos
National Park Service Inventory of Historic
Light Stations, NC Lighthouses - Currituck
Beach Light
Beautiful
Photos
of
Currituck Beach Lighthouse in the Lighthouse Gallery
Beautiful Photos
of
Currituck Beach Lighthouse in the Lighthouse Gallery
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| Visit
these other web sites by Fred Hurteau |
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