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The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States.[4] It was designed and built on June 11, 1764 by Isaac Conro. At that time, it stood only 500 feet (150 metres) from the tip of Sandy Hook; however, today, due to growth caused by littoral drift, it is almost one and a half miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip. It was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966, for its significance in commerce and transportation.[1]

Sandy Hook Light

Sandy Hook Lighthouse in 2020
Location	Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°27′42″N 74°00′07″W
Tower
Constructed	June 11, 1764
Foundation	Stone
Construction	Rubble
Automated	1965
Height	103 feet (31 m)
Shape	Octagonal
Heritage	National Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
Focal height	27 m (89 ft)
Lens	third order Fresnel lens
Range	19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi)
Characteristic	Fixed white lighted throughout 24 hours
Sandy Hook Light
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Show map of Monmouth County, New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Show map of the United States
NRHP reference No.	66000468[1]
NJRHP No.	2029[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	January 29, 1964[3]
Designated NJRHP	May 27, 1971

History

The light was built to aid mariners entering the southern end of the New York Harbor. It was originally called New York Lighthouse because it was funded through a New York Assembly lottery and a tax on all ships entering the Port of New York. The lighthouse has endured an attempt to destroy it as an aid to British navigation by Benjamin Tupper,[5] and a subsequent occupancy of British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

Almost two years after the State of New York ratified the U.S. Constitution, the lighthouse was transferred to federal authority. George Washington wrote to the Senate on April 5, 1790, "I have directed my private secretary to lay before you copies of three acts of the legislature of New York ... An act for vesting in the United States of America the light-house and the lands thereunto belonging at Sandy Hook".[6] The lighthouse is located on the grounds of Fort Hancock.

In 1990, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 25 cent stamp featuring the Sandy Hook Lighthouse.[7]

Today

Sandy Hook Lighthouse, which was restored in spring 2000, is part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service. Seven days a week, National Park Service Park Rangers offer free tours every half hour from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. The view from the top includes the Atlantic Ocean, Sandy Hook Bay and the New York City skyline.

In popular culture

• On September 18, 2009 the Sandy Hook Light was filmed as a fictional backdrop for final episode of the longest running soap opera Guiding Light.

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey
• List of the oldest buildings in New Jersey
• Geography of New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary
• Raritan Bayshore

Notes

External links

• Media related to Sandy Hook Lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NJ-326, "Sandy Hook Lighthouse, Fort Hancock, Fort Hancock, Monmouth County, NJ", 2 photos, 6 measured drawings, 7 data pages
• Sandy Hook Lighthouse at American Byways
• New Jersey Lighthouse Society Home Page: Sandy Hook Lighthouse
• Sandy Hook Lighthouse from Lighthousefriends.com

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