Federal Point Light was a lighthouse at Federal Point near Kure Beach in

New Hanover County, North Carolina New Hanover County is one of 100 counties located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. Though the second-smallest NC county in land area, it is one of the most populous, as its county seat, Wilm ...

. It was an active light from about 1866 to around 1879.Roberts, Bruce, and Jones, Ray, ''Southern Lighthouses: Outer Banks to Cape Florida'', 3rd ed., Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, CT, 2002, p. 28, .Zepke, Terrance, ''Lighthouse of the Carolinas'', Pineapple Press, Sarasota, FL, 2002, pp. 77-78, . Federal Point Light was on the inland side on the southern end of Pleasure Island, which is a

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a fe ...

. It was near

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...

and

North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher North Carolina Aquariums is a system of three public aquariums located in Kure Beach, Roanoke Island and Pine Knoll Shores. All are operated by the Aquariums Division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources since 1976 ...

and Kure Beach.

History

One or more lighthouses were built at Federal Point prior to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

.Stick, David, ''Bald Head: A History of Smith Island and Cape Fear,'' Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wendell NC, 1985, p. 38, 71, . A light tower was destroyed by Confederate troops in early 1860s. After a new inlet opened south of Federal Point, a new lighthouse was constructed in 1866. It was a cottage-style lighthouse on piers. The light was extinguished in 1879 or 1881. A rock seawall, eventually known as "The Rocks" was built in 1881 to close the inlet. The lighthouse burned in 1881.

References

{{authority control Buildings and structures in New Hanover County, North Carolina Lighthouses in North Carolina Lighthouses completed in 1866 1866 establishments in North Carolina Buildings and structures demolished in 1881