{"nrhp_refnum":"07000293","name":"Oak Island Lighthouse","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"300A Caswell Beach Rd., N of NC 133","address_restricted":false,"city":"Caswell Beach","county":"Brunswick County","state":"NC","lat":33.892758994000076,"lon":-78.03491016099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-04-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 153-foot reinforced concrete lighthouse built in 1957 at Caswell Beach on Oak Island, Brunswick County, North Carolina, by W. F. Brinkley & Son Construction Company for the U.S. Coast Guard.","why_significant":"The nomination argues national significance under Criterion C in engineering as the last reinforced concrete lighthouse tower built in the United States, and under Criterion A in maritime history. It was the last lighthouse built in North Carolina and the next-to-last coastal lighthouse in the country. When activated in 1958 it was the brightest lighthouse in the United States and second brightest in the world.","narrative":"Rising 153 feet above a knoll on Oak Island, this lighthouse was built in 1957 and first lit on May 15, 1958. It guides ships toward the Cape Fear River and the port of Wilmington, opposite the channel from Bald Head Island. The tower is monolithic reinforced concrete with walls eight inches thick, raised on 24 concrete-filled steel pilings. Its black, white and gray bands are mixed into the concrete rather than painted. Builders used a slip-form method, pouring continuously for about six days, and two Marine Corps helicopters lifted the aluminum lantern into place. The light was adapted from World War II aircraft spotlights and was the brightest in the United States until 1962. It was the last lighthouse built in North Carolina and the last reinforced concrete tower in the country. The Coast Guard keeps the light and navigation equipment, while the Town of Caswell Beach owns the tower and grounds.","period_of_significance":"1958","architect_builder":"Brinkley Construction Company, W. F. & Son (builder)","architectural_style":"Other - lighthouse","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still an active aid to navigation maintained by the Coast Guard; the lighthouse parcel was transferred to the Town of Caswell Beach in 2004, and the lights now operate 24 hours a day.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:54.189169-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/15/7191/47719115/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/07000293.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000293/fb29c5ca98-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000293/fb29c5ca98-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Matt Trostle","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oak_Island_NC_Lighthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Matt Trostle</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oak_Island_NC_Lighthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719115","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Island_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4286387"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/brunswick-county/oak-island-lighthouse-07000293/"}