Solving the Mystery of the Lost LIght

Popular historian and author Kevin Duffus will return to the Asheboro library with the tale of how he found the lost original lens of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse — a national treasure — at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 23. The French-manufactured 1803 Fresnel (pronounced fer-NEL) lens was missing for 140 years. One of the first made for a U.S. lighthouse, it was displayed at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York City. During the Civil War, the 12-foot tall, 6,000-pound bronze and glass optic was removed by Confederate authorities, and was lost. Duffus chronicled his successful search for the lens, which also unearthed a wealth of lighthouse lore and reached into his own family history, in his book "The Lost Light: The Mystery of the Missing Cape Hatteras Fresnel Lens", published in 2003. An award-winning author, researcher and filmmaker, Duffus has made significant discoveries about North Carolina history, starting at age 17 when he found a Confederate gunboat in a river near his home, and extending to groundbreaking conclusions about Blackbeard’s treasure. His appearance, part of the Road Scholar series, is made possible by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide non-profit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Friends of the Library.