Standing at 166 feet tall this light was put into operation in October 1872 and painted in a unique diagonal checkerboard design instead of the more conventional strips. The present light is the third on this location replacing two earlier lighthouses. The first light was abandoned and lost to the sea. The second tower was blown up by the confederacy in 1861. The lighthouse is located on Pea Island off Route 12 about four miles north of Oregon Inlet and about six miles south of Whalebone Junction.
