PRICES CREEK
L I G H T H O U S E
UNC LIBRARIES COMMONS
P R I C E ’ S C R E E K L I G H T H O U S E
B Y S I M O N G O N Z A L E Z
HE Federal Point Beacon was not the only lighthouse at the southern
tip of the Cape Fear region that’s now lost to history.
In 1848, Congress authorized funding for seven lighthouses and
a lightship to illuminate the 25-mile stretch of the Cape Fear River
between Oak Island and Wilmington. They included the Price’s Creek
Lighthouse, constructed in 1849.
The Price’s Creek beacon, located in Brunswick County about 6 miles southwest
of the Fort Fisher lamp, was actually a pair of range lights. A 20-foot-tall tapering
brick tower served as the front light. The rear light, located about 700 feet farther
back, sat atop a 25-foot-square brick structure that doubled as the keeper’s quarters.
Ships navigating the Cape Fear River would line up the two lights. When they were
aligned, the ship was safely in the middle of the channel.
When the Civil War erupted in 1861, the Cape Fear lights served as a signal
station to relay communications between Fort Fisher and Fort Caswell and as a
guide for blockade runners entering the mouth of the river. Toward the end of
the war the Confederate Army disabled the lighthouses, hoping to prevent or
impede navigation along the river by Union troops.
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WBM january 2020
The structures of the Price’s Creek Range
Lighthouses survived, but both lights were
removed. They were taken out of service and
abandoned by the federal government after
the war. Storms reduced the rear range light-house
to rubble, which residents hauled away.
The front range tower still exists, although
it scarcely resembles a lighthouse. There’s
no light on top, and it’s missing a door and
windows. What’s left of the Price’s Creek
Lighthouse stands on private property
owned by Archer Daniels Midland and
isn’t accessible by the public, but it can be
seen from the ferry between Fort Fisher and
Southport.
OAK ISLAND
L I G H T H O U S E
BALD HEAD
ISLAND
L I G H T H O U S E
ILLUSTRATION BY BRENT WESTWOOD
JAMES ROBERTS (JAMPPA)/WIKIMEDIA
The Price’s Creek Lighthouse was con-structed
in 1849 as part of a chain of light-houses
between Oak Island and Wilmington.
The light was disabled toward the end of
the Civil War and gradually fell into disre-pair.
What’s left of the original structure can
be seen from the ferry between Fort Fisher
and Southport. The beacon consisted of a
pair of range lights. When mariners lined up
the taller rear light with the shorter front
light, they knew they were safely in the
middle of the channel.
T