Federal Point Light was a lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 at Federal Point near Kure Beach

Kure Beach, North Carolina

Kure Beach (ˈkjʊərɪ KYUR-ee) is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina about 15 miles south of Wilmington. It is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2000 census...

 in New Hanover County, North Carolina

New Hanover County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 160,307 people, 68,183 households, and 41,591 families residing in the county. The population density was 806 people per square mile . There were 79,616 housing units at an average density of 400 per square mile...

. It was an active light from about 1866 to around 1879.

Federal Point is on the inland side on the southern end of Pleasure Island

Pleasure Island (North Carolina)

Pleasure Island is a coastal island in Southeastern North Carolina, USA south of Wilmington. The coastal towns of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, as well as the annexed community of Wilmington Beach, are located on the island...

, which a barrier island

Barrier island

Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...

. It is near Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....

 and North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher and Kure Beach.

History

One or more lighthouses were built at Federal Point prior to the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. A light tower was destroyed by Confederate troops

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

in early 1860s.

After a new inlet opened south of Federal Point, a new lighthouse was constructed in 1866. It was a cottage-style lighthouse on piers. The light was extinguished in 1879 or 1881. A rock seawall was built in 1881 to close the inlet. The lighthouse burned in 1881.