Bald Head Station on Smith Island was the first lighthouse to be established in N.C. It was built to guide ships into Cape Fear River in 1796. In 1818 a 110 foot tall lighthouse was built to replace the original and is now called Old Baldy. The present lighthouse continues to hold its importance as one of the oldest for lighthouses prior to the Civil War.The Lighthouse Board decommissioned Bald Head Station in1866 and 13 years later reactivated it using a 4th-order lens, to be used only as a harbor light. The lightouse can be reaced by ferry or passenger boat and is about 30 minutes from Southport.
