An Adaptive Legacy: Repurposing Lighthouses from Navigational Aids to Heritage Tourism Destinations in North Carolina

Summary

The lighthouses of North Carolina were originally constructed to aid navigation through treacherous waterways, but the advancement of modern navigational equipment has diminished their necessity for that purpose. In 2000, the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act was enacted to see to the transference of federally owned historic light stations to qualified new stewards. Today, the National Parks Service, private organizations, and community associations manage the lighthouses on the Outer Banks. The focus of this study is to analyze the transition from navigational aids to heritage tourism destinations and the preservation management strategies for three North Carolina lighthouses as case studies: Currituck Beach Light Station, Cape Hatteras Light Station, and Bald Head Island Lighthouse. This research will evaluate the effectiveness of the preservation of these sites by examining the management actions to date and the values and opinions of the local community members towards these sites as cultural and historical resources. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2016   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 459