For 202 years, Old Baldy lighthouse on Bald Head Island has stood as a product of a different time in the Cape Fear region but an everlasting reminder of its history.
But Old Baldy is just one of three lighthouses that have stood on the island to help direct mariners around the dangerous shoals and into the Cape Fear River since 1795. Two have since been lost to time, but each lighthouse has helped shape the identity of the island and the development of the region.
This week's episode traces at the history of all three lighthouse with the special guest Travis Gilbert, the historian for Old Baldy Lighthouse.
Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.
Season three is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.
Sources:
-- "Bald Head: A History of Smith Island and Cape Fear," by David Stick
-- "Cap'n Charlie and the Lights of the Lower Cape Fear," by Ethel Herring
-- "North Carolina Lighthouses," by Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and Bruce Roberts