Cape Lookout Light Station, 1873 Keepers' Dwelling, Cape Lookout, Carteret County, NC

Significance: Following the construction of the new Lighthouse in 1859, a new Keepers' Dwelling was constructed at the Cape Lookout Light Station in 1873, to replace the 1812 wood frame dwelling which had served the first lighthouse. The 1873 Keepers' Dwelling was built with exterior walls of load bearing brick masonry. Wood framing was used for the floors, roof, and interior partitions. Symmetrical in plan, the Dwelling was intended to accommodate two lighthouse keepers and their families. Each of the duplex units consisted of a living room and kitchen on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second floor, flanking a shared center stair hall.

The Keepers' Dwelling was substantially altered in 1920, when each floor was reconfigured to accommodate a single apartment. The stair and stair hall were enclosed adjacent to the north entrance, in order to provide separate access to the second floor apartment. A new exterior door was inserted at the north end of the west wall to provide access to the northwest room on the first floor. In 1934, a bathroom was installed on each floor at the south end of the stair hall. The first floor south entrance was relocated from the center of the south wall to the westernmost window opening.

The Cape Lookout Lighthouse was automated in 1950. With there no longer being a need for an on­site keeper, the 1873 Keepers' Dwelling was boarded up, abandoned, and allowed to deteriorate. Cape Lookout National Seashore was established as a unit of the National Park Service in 1966. After years of neglect, the 1873 Keepers' Dwelling was eventually gutted and restored to an approximation of its original layout, with exhibit rooms on the first floor and an apartment for park volunteers on the second floor.
Survey number: HABS NC-203-B
Building/structure dates: 1873 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1920 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1934 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 72000097, 00000692