Bodie Island Funding Pulled By Senate
By Sue Clark on Dec 22, 2007 in Featured 
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Money Dries Up
What a Merry Christmas present to the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society. Not! The US Senate/House conference committee slashed the $3 million dollar appropriation from the budget to meet the Whitehouse’s demands. The money, proposed and shepherded through the US House budget process by Rep. David Price, D-Winston-Salem was nearly guaranteed. Enough so that the Lighthouse Society had planned to begin the renovations in 2008. Ninety five percent of the design planning has been completed.
According to a story in the Outer Banks Sentinel, Mike Murray, superintendent of the National Parks Service Cape Hatteras Group said, “We were very hopeful that the money would be appropriated. Now, we will have to regroup and work with regional and Washington offices to see if we can get it in the budget for next year.”
Bodie’s History
Bodie Island as it currently looks is the third incarnation of a lightstation. The original was built in 1847, and as so many of that time era, was of faulty construction and began leaning within two years. Numerous attempts to correct the problem failed and the 54 foot lighthouse was torn down and replaced with a new, 80 foot tower in 1859. However, that one didn’t last either, but not due to poor workmanship. That one was blown up by the Confederate Army during the Civil War so the Union Army couldn’t take it over. I guess that was a good example of cutting off your nose to spite your face, as my mother used to say.
The current 160 foot tall light was built in 1872, and a First Order Fresnel lens was installed. The light was automated in 1932, and the light was transferred to the National Park Service in July 2000, when it was immediately added to the Doomsday List by the American Lighthouse Foundation. Since it’s still an Active Aid to Navigation, the Coast Guard attempted to replace the original Fresnel lens in 2003. This brought a storm of protest and the Coast Guard gave in and transferred ownership of the lens to the NPS in 2005.
Repair Work Needed
There were some repairs to the tower in 1997-1998 and the lead paint was removed from the tower base and oil house in 2002. The Park Service received a $200,000 appropriation for repairs in 2000-01. Matching federal and state grants of $200,000 each in 2001 advanced the planning of a full restoration. In 2004, the tower was repainted in April, but in August of that year, two large chunks of iron fell from the gallery. In June, 2007, after numerous delays, emergency repairs were completed and the Society was able to open the base of the tower intermittently. Fortunately, the storm season this year did no further damage, but the effects of salt water, storms, waves and time throughout the years have taken its toll on this mostly original lightstation. Currently, the keeper’s house is used as a visitor center and small museum.
What’s Next?
Since Scrooge in the form of the Senate has seen fit to cut funding to our national treasures, the Society will have to pursue money elsewhere in the form of other grants and private donations. But Murray stated that an appropriation will almost certainly be necessary because the amount needed for restoration far exceeds what is available locally, and they have plans to work with Rep. Price on securing the necessary cash in the next budget. Yet in the meantime, storms, salt and waves continue to erode this symbol of hope to the nation’s sailors.
In the meantime, consider donating to the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society. Or to any lighthouse preservationgroup of your choice. The tax benefits are many, and you will help preserve something the government seems intent on throwing away, our maritime history.
Bodie Island photograph by pxlpusher on Flickr (Creative Commons license).
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