OKRACOKE, N.C. — The National Park Service broke ground on a $3.6 million project this month to preserve the Ocracoke lighthouse keeper’s quarters on the Outer Banks island. 

Workers will raise the home 4 feet to help protect the historic structure from rising sea levels. They will also do remodeling and repair work on the structure. The project is expected to finish up in 2025, according to the Park Service.

Built in 1823, the lighthouse once lit the way for mariners around Ocracoke Island.

By its side — the keeper’s quarters that once housed the people responsible for maintaining the grounds and the light, hauling oil, trimming wicks and polishing the lens.

Now 200 years old, the structure is feeling the wear and tear from the elements and major storms.

Superintendent Dave Hallac, with the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, says he’s seen hurricanes come through the area and cause major flooding. 

“Since I’ve been here over the last eight and a half years, this area has flooded three times: Matthew, Florence and then most significantly during Hurricane Dorian, in which the first floor of the building, which inside is right about here, had about 18 inches of water above it,” said Hallac. “I did a lot of damage.”

Kerry Kelly traveled from Kill Devil Hills a day early for the ceremony and a chance to see inside.

“We came down, specifically, because we can actually come in the lighthouse, the keeper’s house,” Kelly said. “I’m an amateur photographer, but lover of lighthouses, all lighthouses, and this is one of the very special ones.”

For Kelly, the house is a reminder of the sacrifices lighthouse keepers have made.

“It was very remote, and a very, very stark existence out here for those people to sign up for families and what they had to do to survive out here,” Kelly said. 

He said he’s excited to see the project completed, and the keeper’s stories preserved. 

“These buildings and all are the only that’s really left of these light keeper’s lives,” Kelly said. “I think it’s one way to honor those people.” 

The Parks Service says moving the lighthouse station is a part of their mission to keep the integrity of each site and change to an adapting environment. Renovations are set to begin mid-January and will take about a year to complete.