What Old Baldy Lighthouse & Smith Island Museum Gift Shop is known for

The gift shop of the Old Baldy Lighthouse and the Smith Island Museum of History is run by the Old Baldy Foundation. The non-profit preserves the lighthouse at 101 Lighthouse Wynd on Bald Head Island, North Carolina. Visitors reach the island by ferry from Southport, climb 108 stairs to the top of the tower and tour the museum in the keeper's cottage. Purchases in the shop go toward the foundation's preservation work on the site.

The gift shop at Old Baldy belongs to the Old Baldy Foundation. The non-profit preserves the Old Baldy Lighthouse on Bald Head Island, North Carolina, and interprets the island's history. The lighthouse stands at 101 Lighthouse Wynd, a five-minute walk from the ferry landing. The island is reached only by boat, on the passenger ferry from Southport. Visitors climb 108 stairs and five landings to the top for a view over Bald Head Island and the Cape Fear River estuary. Climbs are self-guided and unscheduled. The keeper's cottage beside the tower houses the Smith Island Museum of History. Artifacts from the foundation's collection rotate on exhibit there and orient guests to the island's past. More artifacts sit inside the lighthouse foundation. The grounds hold picnic tables and the old Oil House, with interpretive signs and a very old live oak. The foundation also runs a two-hour guided history tour by golf cart that covers four centuries of island history. The tour includes lighthouse admission and a ten percent discount in the gift shop. Its education work extends to a Junior Keepers programme and an archival collection. A monthly newsletter is called The Keeper's Times. Supporters fund the site through a Brick Walkway Program and Passholders for Preservation. The shop is the foundation's retail arm, and buying there supports the upkeep of the tower and the museum. The site closes in January and February and keeps seasonal schedules for the rest of the year.