Sentinels of the Cape Fear: The Lighthouses of Our Coast

The Hammocks at Southport June 2026

Stand at the waterfront in Southport on a clear evening and look out over the Cape Fear River. This has been one of the most strategically important — and most dangerous — stretches of coastline in America. The entrance to the Cape Fear River was the gateway to Wilmington, one of the busiest ports in the colonial South, and navigating it meant threading through shifting sandbars, treacherous shoals, and unpredictable tides. For centuries, lighthouse keepers stood watch here so that sailors wouldn't have to guess their way in the dark.

Three lighthouses have served this stretch of coast. Each one tells a different chapter of the story.

Old Baldy — The Oldest Standing Lighthouse in North Carolina

On Bald Head Island, just a short ferry ride from Southport's Deep Point Marina, stands Old Baldy — the oldest lighthouse still standing in North Carolina. Built in 1817 for the sum of $15,915, the octagonal brick-and-plaster tower rises 110 feet above the island and has been watching over the Cape Fear River entrance for more than two centuries.

Old Baldy was never a perfect lighthouse. Almost from the start, mariners complained that it was too short, too dim, and positioned too far inland to warn ships away from the notorious Frying Pan Shoals extending south of the island. But it kept its post — surviving wars, hurricanes, and decades of coastal weather — long after its replacement was built.

Today Old Baldy is a museum and one of the most visited historic sites on the Brunswick Islands. You can climb its interior staircase for sweeping views of Bald Head Island and the river below. The adjacent Smith Island Museum tells the full story of the Cape Fear lighthouse keepers and the mariners who depended on their light.

The Cape Fear Lighthouse — A Brief Giant

By the early 1900s, it was clear that Old Baldy simply wasn't up to the task. In 1903, the Cape Fear Lighthouse was completed on the southeastern tip of Bald Head Island — a dramatic open-frame tower of wrought iron and steel that stood 161 feet tall and cost $70,000 to build. It was far brighter and far more visible than Old Baldy, and it finally gave mariners a fighting chance against Frying Pan Shoals.

The Cape Fear Lighthouse served for more than half a century before being demolished in 1958 by the U.S. Coast Guard, deemed obsolete by the construction of its successor across the river.

The Oak Island Lighthouse — The New Giant

Completed in 1958 and standing on Caswell Beach just across the Cape Fear River, the Oak Island Lighthouse is the newest of the three — and the most powerful lighthouse ever built in North Carolina. For its first five years of operation, it was the brightest lighthouse in the United States and the second brightest in the world, with carbon-arc mercury lamps generating an almost incomprehensible 70 million candlepower.

The tower itself is striking — a stark concrete column painted in bold horizontal bands of black, white, and gray, visible for miles in every direction. In December 2020, a new LED rotating fixture was installed, the first of its kind in the United States. The light can now be seen 25 miles out to sea.

Visiting the Lighthouses

Both Old Baldy and the Oak Island Lighthouse are open to visitors and well worth a trip:

• Old Baldy is accessible via the Bald Head Island Ferry from Deep Point Marina in Southport. The ferry crossing takes about 20 minutes. Admission to climb the lighthouse is approximately $8. Plan to spend the day — Bald Head Island is magical.
• The Oak Island Lighthouse at Caswell Beach is visible from many points around Brunswick County and can be viewed up close from the beach. Guided climb tours are offered seasonally — check ahead for current availability.

For those of us who live near the river these lighthouse keepers once watched over, there's something grounding about knowing this history. The same water that laps at our shores once brought trading ships, warships, and fishing vessels guided only by a flame at the top of a tower. We're living in one of the most storied stretches of the American coast.