Bodie Island Light Station Poster

A photograph of the Bodie Island Light Station near Nags Head, North Carolina. Bodie Island Light Station served as an important aid to navigation in a system of lighthouses guiding mariners along the hazardous waters of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, often referred to as the "graveyard of the Atlantic." The lighthouses on the Outer Banks guided both national and international shipping plying along the coast. Bodie Island Light, first established in 1848, was the only light between Cape Henry at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to the north and Cape Hatteras Light to the south, until the Currituck Light was established to the north in 1875. The current tower, built in 1872, reflects a standardized design used for many first-order lighthouses built by the U.S. Light-House Board. The station and its setting retain a nineteenth century appearance with few modifications. Its original Fresnel lens is still operational, and the station continues as an active aid to navigation and as a popular tourist destination in Cape Hatteras National Seashore.