Bald Head Lighthouse, fondly known as Old Baldy, is the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina. The distressed-stone and mottled stucco plaster lighthouse with an octagonal tower is located on Bald Head Island, an island and village located on the east side of the Cape Fear River in Brunswick County, NC. The current Old Baldy was completed in 1817 to replace an older lighthouse that was wearing out. Old Baldy light house is 110 feet high, with 108 steps to its top. The light house was used mostly to guide ships through the perilous Frying Pan Shoals, then was decommissioned after the Oak Island Lighthouse was constructed in 1958. "Old Baldy" continues to stand as a symbol of Bald Head Island. Bald Head Island is accessible only by ferry from the nearby town of Southport, NC. One visitors and residents arrive on Bald Head Island, they drive modified electric golf carts, since cars are not allowed on the island. Charlotte NC photographer Patrick Schneider has extensive photo collections of the following lighthouses: Bodie Island Lighthouse, Bald Head Island Lighthouse, Cape Fear Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Cape Lookout Lighthouse, Currituck Beach Lighthouse, Diamond Shoal Lighthouse, Federal Point Lighthouse, Oak Island Lighthouse, and Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island.