The speaker at our 1812 meeting today was Jacob "Jake" Grossman, the Educator and Collections Coordinator for the Old Baldy Foundation. Jake used a PowerPoint presentation with slides that depicted Old Baldy Lighthouse and its long history here in the region. Bald Head Island was once called Smith Island. Jake told how in 1739, well before the American Revolution, Wilmington had about a thousand people. The Cape Fear River, he said, allowed for the shipment of tar from around the interior state town of Cross Creek, now known as Fayetteville, back down to Wilmington where it could be loaded onto British ships. He said we sent out tar, used to waterproof wooden vessels, as well as longleaf pine wood and turpentine, to be used for shipbuilding. Before the Revolutionary War, some 50 percent of the British vessels were supplied by these products from here in North Carolina. After the war, the same supplies went to build American ships. Old Baldy, he says, is the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina. In 1734, the first lighthouse was built on Smith Island near the water's edge. However, the contractor on the project was slow and his calculations were off. By 1780, only 60-percent of the lighthouse was finished and Alexander Hamilton knew something was off. He asked for an inspection and realized he was correct. The calculations of the lighthouse were indeed off. In time, another lighthouse was built, this time more inland on the island, with some of the bricks from the original lighthouse. The cost was $15,000 and would be built by Daniel Lay. The project began in earnest in 1813 and was completed in 1817. The Old Baldy lighthouse was built 110 feet high and with walls that start with 5 feet of brick at the base and go up to 2 feet walls of brick at the top. It was then covered with stucco. Old Baldy is the only lighthouse that is built of brick in an octagonal Federal style. The biggest mistake David Lay made in building his Old Baldy lighthouse was not going deep enough with the foundation. He therefore had to build a glacis wall around the base of the lighthouse to catch the water so that when it pours down from the top of the lighthouse when it rains, it could easily run off. However, that original glacis wall was removed in the 1970s and replaced with an earthen glacis wall, which has since eroded. The Old Baldy Foundation is in the process of proving to the State of North Carolina that the original concrete glacis wall existed, which they have summarily done, and offered to replace the earthen wall with a new concrete wall to help protect the lighthouse for future generations. If you'd like a tour of Old Baldy, Jacob Grossman can be reached at jake@oldbaldy.org or by calling 910-457-7481.
Information provided by Caron Myers
Public Relations Committee for 1812
President Michele Russell and guest speaker Jacob "Jake" Grossman pose for a photo after his informative PowerPoint presentation.
President Michel Russell presented former President Carol Jutte with the past President's Pin.
The Charles Gause Chapter US Daughters of 1812 participates in the Stamps for the Wounded program, which was founded in 1942 to help wounded and ill service members deal with boredom, loneliness, and convalesce through stamp collecting and art projects that use canceled stamps. At the Oct 5th meeting, we were gifted two boxes of stamps donated by a local stamp-collecting society. These will be sent to the program in our name.
Information provided by Veterans Chair Suzanne Palmer
Chaplain Linda Lashley collected an unbelievable amount of stamps.
The Charles Gause Chapter US Daughters of 1812 is a Commemorative Partner with the Vietnam War Commemoration. Over the last three years, we have recognized spouses of our
members who served on active duty in the U.S. military between 1955-1975. At the October 5th meeting, we honored two surviving spouses of veterans and a living veteran. We will continue to recognize the friends and family of our members through 2025.
Presentation of Vietnam Commemorative Certificate and Pin by Suzanne Palmer
Book received from General Society of the War of 1812
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