Visit the newest lighthouse on the Outer Banks

Most of North Carolina’s lighthouses have been in the same locations for hundreds of years, but the newest one on the Outer Banks has moved from guarding the Croatan Sound in Wanchese to the quaint waterfront of Manteo. The Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, which is also the smallest lighthouse on the Outer Banks,  is a recreation of the original screw-pile lighthouse operated until 1955. Screw-pile lighthouses, which look more like a lightkeeper’s house with the lighthouse tower protruding through roof, were used to help mariners navigate the waterways and sounds inside of the famous Outer Banks. The current version of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse on Manteo’s historic waterfront is open for visitors and contains exhibits on Roanoke’s maritime heritage and information on the lighthouse and its keepers. Visitors can also find information about the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse and other screw-pile lighthouses at the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum and Roanoke Island Festival Park.