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This is the official discussion thread for the cause Outer Banks Conservationists. Its EIN is 58-1424689 and it's a public charity based in Manteo, NC. Research more info about the cause on GuideStar and Charity Navigator.

We own and work to preserve the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla and Island Farm on Roanoke Island.

Outer Banks Conservationists (OBC) was founded in 1980 to save the Keepers’ House of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla. When the oil-carrying lighthouse keepers were transferred elsewhere with the advent of an automatic-flashing electric light, the Victorian Stick Style duplex became uninhabited. It went from being a point of national pride built during the nation’s centennial year to an attractive nuisance that the county was considering burning down for safety reasons. After working to bring the dwelling back to its original magnificence, OBC went on accept the deed to the lighthouse tower – which it had opened to the public in 1990 through a lease with the United States Coast Guard – in 2003. After ensuring the stability of the cast-iron and hosting a keepers’ descendants reunion in 1999, OBC started a second historic preservation site with the Island Farm on Roanoke Island. Restoration of that 1847 homeplace began in the early 2000s and the 5 acres of the farmstead was opened to the public in 2010.

Today the Currituck Beach Light Station is home to the only remaining First Order Keepers House of its kind, though others had been built on both coasts. OBC owns the tower, leases the two houses and grounds from the State, and works with the federal government which owns the lens and maintains the beacon as an active aid to navigation. It employs onsite lighthouse keepers to maintain the buildings and grounds and to keep the tower open daily, mid-March through its annual birthday celebration on December 1.

Island Farm on Roanoke Island is a living history site and working farm that interprets life on the island after the creation of the Dismal Swamp but prior to the Civil War and the Wright Brothers bringing national renown to these coastal islands. The center of the historic site is the ~1847 two-story dwelling, one of the oldest homes on Roanoke Island, and the only Antebellum dwelling there restored to its original condition. Programming at Island Farm rotates daily and changes seasonally. It includes blacksmithing, hearth cooking, gardening, woodworking, weaving, and more. Livestock on-site are used to teach visitors about the animals that would have been used (for both power and food) on local homesteads in the mid 19th century.

Also read Charitocracy's blog post about Outer Banks Conservationists!

• This topic was modified 1 year ago by  magresto.

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