Page "Bald Head Island, North Carolina" Paragraph 11

The construction of a lighthouse at the mouth of the Cape Fear river was authorized by the Commissioners of the Cape Fear in 1789.

The commission specified that the light be built " at the extreme point on Bald-head or some other convenient place near the bar of said river, in order that vessels may be enabled thereby to avoid the great shoal called Frying-Pan.

" Funds had been raised for the implementation of navigation aids by taxing vessels entering The Port of Brunswick at six pence per ton.

Additional funds were provided by the newly formed US Congress who, in August 1789, assumed responsibility for construction, maintenance and operation of all " lighthouses, beacons, buoys and public piers " in the US.

Land for the light was donated by Benjamin Smith in exchange for increased hunting regulation on the island.