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Currituck County's northern beaches around Corolla have been described by USA Weekend as ''one of the 10 best undiscovered beaches on the East Coast.'' The northernmost accessible town on the  Outer Banks of North Carolina, Corolla has seen rapid development over the past ten years. Up until 1984, when the state extended Highway 12 north from the Dare County line, the town was a sleepy seaside village. Today, multimillion dollar Corolla Vacation Home Rentals dwarf the village proper and make Corolla one of the most desirable upscale vacation destinations in the country. Ironically, it was the opening of the road and the ensuing traffic that eventually led to the relocation of one of Corolla's most famous attractions, the wild ponies. .
At the center of the village is the Whalehead Club and Currituck Lighthouse complex. Millionaire industrialists built the Whalehead Club in the 1920's as a base for waterfowl hunting expeditions to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Today, the Club is being restored to its original glory and serves as a waterfowl museum
Next door, the red brick Currituck lighthouse towers over the landscape. The northernmost of the Outer Banks of North Carolina lighthouses, the 180-foot structure is open for climbing in the summer months and features a small museum and the restored light keeper’s house.
On December 1, 1875, the beacon of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse filled the remaining ''dark spot'' on the Outer Banks of North Carolina coast between the Cape Henry light to the north and Bodie Island to the south. To distinguish Currituck Beach from other regional lighthouses its exterior remains unpainted and gives today's visitor a sense of the multitude of bricks used to form the structure. Automated in 1939, the night beacon still flashes at 20-second intervals to warn ships hugging the chain of barrier islands along the coast.
The Lighthouse Keepers' House, a Victorian ''stick style'' dwelling, was constructed from pre-cut and labeled materials which were shipped on a barge to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and assembled on site. In 1876, when the Keepers' House was completed, two keepers and their families shared the duplex in the isolated seaside setting. The keepers were removed in 1939 after the Lighthouse was automated and attendants were no longer needed to clean the lenses, trim the wicks, fuel the lamp, and wind the clockwork mechanism which rotated the beacon. The house and grounds were leased to Outer Banks Conservationists, Inc. in 1980 for purposes of historic preservation.
Today, the grounds and walkways of the Lighthouse compound in the Outer Banks of North Carolina are rejuvenated and the restoration of the double Keepers' House is nearly complete. The house is officially opened to the public annually, by appointment, during the first two weeks of November. Other historic structures located within the compound include louvered cisterns, a two-hole privy, storage building, and the single Keepers' House, which now functions as a Museum Shop.
The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is known as a first order lighthouse in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which means it has the largest of seven Fresnel lens sizes. The original source of light was a U. S. mineral oil lamp consisting of five concentric wicks; the largest was 4 inches in diameter.
Before the advent of electricity, a mechanical means was required to rotate the huge lenses that made the light appear to flash. A system of weights suspended from a line powered a clockwork mechanism beneath the lantern --much like the workings of a grandfather clock. The keeper cranked the weights up by hand every two and a half hours.
Like other lighthouses on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, this one still serves as an aid to navigation. Today a 1000-watt bulb comes on automatically every evening at dusk and ceases at dawn. With a 20-second flash cycle (on for 3 seconds, off for 17 seconds), the light can be seen for 18 nautical miles. The distinctive sequence enables the lighthouse not only to warn mariners but also to help identify their locations
Corolla Rental Home Communities:
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