Call to mind the image of a lighthouse and chances are it’s the iconic candy-cane striped Cape Hatteras structure that you think of. It’s been called “America’s Lighthouse” and it’s one of our most-loved national landmarks.

When the lighthouse was moved in 1999 it was carried to a new foundation, 2,900 feet behind its initial site, while the original stones stayed. Those original foundation stones were ceremoniously inscribed with the names of over 80 lighthouse keepers and are being threatened by the sea. The Cape Hatteras Genealogical and Preservation Society and other interested citizens reached an agreement with the National Park Service wherein the National Park Service will carefully move the stones, weighing over a ton a piece. With the moving scheduled to be completed by Memorial Day, the stones will be placed in a semicircle near where the lighthouse sits today and named “the Keepers of the Light Amphitheater”.