Cape Lookout in Carteret County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Keep the Light Lit

— Cape Lookout National Seashore —

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 21, 2021

1. Keep the Light Lit Marker

Inscription. Built in 1873 the two-story building in front of you was Cape Lookout Light Station’s Assistant Keepers’ Quarters. It housed the station’s assistant lightkeepers and their families for more than 75 years. Essentially a duplex, the quarters could accommodate two keepers at a time.

Imagine living here as a lightkeeper or a member of his family a century or more ago. Think of the isolation. Think of the need to be self-sufficient. Think, too, of the enormity of the lightkeeper’s responsibilities. Though really there was just one job: keep the light lit. The keeper’s entire family helped. Failure could cost lives and cost the keeper his job.

December 1923
23rd, Sunday with strong wind & rain from S.W. and Xmas almost here. This is a lonely place to spend Xmas. I miss Annie very much.
Journal of Assistant Light Keeper James Wilson Gillikin

(captions)
Light Keeper Isaac Van Willis services an electric lighthouse lamp.

When the lighthouse was automated in 1950, lightkeepers—and quarters to house them—were no longer needed. Between 1950 and the time that Cape Lookout became part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore,

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the Assistant Keeper’s Quarters fell into disrepair, as seen in this photo (left) taken around 1976.

Light keeper A.J. Newton (on left) and Coast Guard officer Whitey Whitehurst receive a visit from the children of another Coast Guardsman. Isolation made family life challenging.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the Lighthouses series list. A significant historical month for this entry is December 1923.

Location. 34° 37.394′ N, 76° 31.469′ W. Marker is in Cape Lookout, North Carolina, in Carteret County. It can be reached from South Core Back Road (unpaved), on the left when traveling north. Marker is located near the Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters at Cape Lookout National Seashore. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cape Lookout NC 2831, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Coastal Plain and on the Crystal Coast.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and

Cape Lookout Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 22, 2021

2. Cape Lookout Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters.

on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Where Are We? (a few steps from this marker); More Than a Lighthouse (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Our Dilemma: Eroding Shore (about 400 feet away); Two Centuries Warning Ships (about 600 feet away); Fort Hancock (approx. 4.3 miles away); Horizon of Islands (approx. 4.3 miles away); Estuaries of the Sound (approx. 4.3 miles away); Protecting People and Ships (approx. 4.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cape Lookout.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Cape Lookout Lighthouse (was approx. 4.3 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 21, 2021

3. Keep the Light Lit Marker

Cape Lookout Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 21, 2021

4. Cape Lookout Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 21, 2021

5. Cape Lookout Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters.

Cape Lookout Lighthouse image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, September 21, 2021

6. Cape Lookout Lighthouse

Credits. This page was last revised on December 29, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 28, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 170 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on December 28, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.