Roanoke Marshes Light Explained

Roanoke Marshes Light
Location:South end of Croatan Sound, North Carolina
Coordinates:35.8111°N -75.7006°W
Yearlit:1877
Yeardeactivated:1955
Foundation:Screw-pile
Construction:cast-iron/wood
Shape:square house
Lens:fourth-order Fresnel lens
Characteristic:fixed white with red sector

Roanoke Marshes Light was a screw-pile lighthouse in North Carolina, United States.

History

Little is recorded about this light, which was replaced in 1955 with an automated light on a shorter tower. It marks the south entrance to the channel through Croatan Sound, to the east of a marshy shoal extending from the western shore. This places it in the deepest bottom in the area.

There was a predecessor light on this site, beginning in 1857. The pictured light, of conventional screw-pile construction, was lit in 1877. When the light was decommissioned, an unsuccessful attempt was made by a private party to move it, but the house was lost in the sound.

In 2004, a replica of the light was dedicated at the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum in Manteo, North Carolina.

References