The Montauk Point Light, or Montauk Point Lighthouse, is a
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
located adjacent to
Montauk Point State Park
Montauk Point State Park is a state park located in the hamlet of Montauk, at the eastern tip of Long Island in the Town of East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York. Montauk Point is the easternmost extremity of the South Fork of Long Island, ...
, at the easternmost point of
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, in the hamlet of
Montauk in the
Town of East Hampton in
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populatio ...
. The lighthouse was the first to be built within the state of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and was the first
public works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
project of the new
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is the fourth oldest active lighthouse in the United States.
Long Island listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, in 2012, it was designated as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
for its significance to New York and international shipping in the early
Federal period
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...
.
![Montauk Point Lighthouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Montauk_Point_Lighthouse.jpg)
The lighthouse, which is located on Turtle Hill at the easternmost tip of Long Island, at 2000 Montauk Highway, is a privately run museum, and is not part of Montauk Point State Park. Entry to the lighthouse costs $13.00 for an adult, $8.00 for seniors and $5.00 per child.
History
Montauk Light was the first lighthouse in New York State, and is the fourth-oldest active lighthouse in the United States. The tower is 110'6" high. The current light, installed in July 2001, equivalent to approximately 290,000
candle power
Candlepower (abbreviated as cp or CP) is a unit of measurement for luminous intensity. It expresses levels of light intensity relative to the light emitted by a candle of specific size and constituents. The historical candlepower is equal to 0.981 ...
, flashes every 5 seconds and can be seen a distance of .
Construction on the lighthouse was authorized by the
Second United States Congress
The 2nd United States Congress, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 4, 1791, to March 4, 1793, during the third and fourth years ...
, under President
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
on April 12, 1792.
Ezra L'Hommedieu
Ezra L'Hommedieu (August 30, 1734 – September 27, 1811) was an American lawyer and statesman from Southold, New York in Suffolk County, Long Island. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress (1779 to 1783) and again in 1788. ...
, a prominent lawyer, member of the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
,
and a man with scientific interests, consulted with Washington on its construction. He represented the New York City Chamber of Commerce on discussions related to the lighthouse. He made the case that New York City "was first among American ports in the volume of its foreign commerce. By 1797, the harbor was handling a third of the nation's trade with other countries."
Due to prevailing winds in winter, shippers approaching from sea needed a lighthouse at the end of Long Island to guide them along the south side into New York harbor.
![Montauk Point (NYPL b13512827-424323)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Montauk_Point_%28NYPL_b13512827-424323%29.jpg)
]
L'Hommedieu chose the site for the lighthouse
and designed it.
The project began on June 7, 1796, and was completed on November 5, 1796, the first public works project of the new
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
. Sometime in early April 1797, keeper Jacob Hand lit the wicks in the lamps in the tower, and the lighthouse began operation. It continued under civilian keepers until
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when the US Army took it over.
[ ''See also:'' ]
In 1860, the lighthouse station underwent a massive renovation when two new levels and a larger lantern were added. This increased the height of the tower from its original 80 feet (1796) to its current height of 110' 6". A first-order
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships."
The design allows the c ...
—12 feet high, 6 feet in diameter, and weighing about 10,000 pounds—was installed in the new lantern; the current keeper's dwelling was constructed adjacent to the tower, and the original 1796 dwelling was demolished. A steam-powered fog signal was installed in 1873, with a fog signal building in 1897. The tower was originally all white; its single brown stripe was added in 1899. A fourth-order fixed red range-light was added to the watch deck of the tower in 1903 to warn of Shagwong Reef, a navigational hazard about 3 miles northwest of the lighthouse. This light was severely damaged in the hurricane of September 21, 1938 and removed on July 1, 1940 when the lighthouse was electrified. The huge first-order Fresnel lens was replaced in 1903 with a 3 order bivalve Fresnel lens, which served until February 3, 1987, when it was replaced with an airport beacon with a strength of 2.5 million candela.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the lighthouse was taken over by the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
as part of the Eastern Coastal Defense Shield. The last three civilian keepers—Thomas Buckridge, Jack Miller, and George Warrington—departed in the spring of 1943. Adjacent to the lighthouse,
Camp Hero
Camp Hero State Park is a state park located on Montauk Point, New York, Montauk Point, New York (state), New York. The park occupies a portion of the former Montauk Air Force Station.
History
Military use
The site known as Camp Hero, or th ...
, opened by the Army in 1942, had two
16 inch gun batteries of two guns each, and a battery of two six-inch guns. The
casemates
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mean ...
, gun emplacements and concrete
fire control tower
A fire control tower is a structure located near the coastline, used to detect and locate enemy vessels offshore, direct fire upon them from coastal batteries, or adjust the aim of guns by spotting shell splashes. Fire control towers came into g ...
s (which are also at nearby
Shadmoor State Park
Shadmoor State Park is a state park located in Suffolk County, New York in the United States. Created in 2000, the park is located in Town of East Hampton on the South Fork of Long Island, east of the hamlet of Montauk.
History
Prior to ...
) are still visible.
In 1946 the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
took over maintenance of the lighthouse and operated it until the station was automated on February 3, 1987. In May of that year, the lighthouse museum opened to the public, operated by the Montauk Historical Society. It leased the property from the US Coast Guard for that purpose. On September 30, 1996 President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
signed legislation transferring the lighthouse property to the Montauk Historical Society.
The tower was built on Turtle Hill from the edge of the cliff; due to the cumulative effects of
shoreline erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...
, it is now away from the edge. After World War II, the
built a seawall at its base, but the erosion continued. The Coast Guard considered tearing down the lighthouse in 1967 and replacing it with a steel tower further from the edge of the bluff. In the wake of protests over the announced dismantling of the tower, Congressman
Michael Forbes
Michael Patrick Forbes (born July 16, 1952) is an American former politician from the state of New York. Forbes represented a Long Island district in the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001, first as a Republican (until 1 ...
proposed a bill to the United States Congress to hand over the Lighthouse to the
Montauk Historical Society from the Public so it could be preserved; the bill was passed.
Giorgina Reid (1908–2001), a textile designer, had saved her
Rocky Point, New York
Rocky Point is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Brookhaven, New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population was 14,014.
History
Rocky Point is home to the site where American radio company ...
cottage from collapse by building a simple set of terraces in the gullies of the bluff. She proposed that solution to the Society at Montauk. Reid's concept, Reed-Trench Terracing, called for building the terrace platforms made of various beach debris, notably reeds; the practice (along with further strengthening of the rocks at the bluff toe) appeared to stem the erosion. She patented the process and published an article about it titled "How to Hold up a Bank". Greg Donohue, a Montauk landscaper, worked with Reid at the Point and kept the project moving forward after she retired in 1986. With support from various sources, including the Montauk Historical Society and the State of New York, the Erosion Control Project of Montauk Point was successfully completed in 1998.
However, the recurrence of the erosion threat in ensuing years has prompted further action: In November 2006, the
' plan to build another
seawall
A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
was opposed by a local
surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
group, who contended that a seawall would ruin the nearby world-renowned
surf break
Surf or SURF may refer to:
Commercial products
* Surf (detergent), a brand of laundry detergent made by Unilever
Computers and software
* "Surfing the Web", slang for exploring the World Wide Web
* surf (web browser), a lightweight web brows ...
. They proposed moving the lighthouse back from the shore, as was done with the
Cape Hatteras Light
Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The lighthouse’s semi-unique pattern makes it easy to recognize and fa ...
house. Complicating such a move is the terrain, which would require the lighthouse to be moved down one hill and up another. Environmental groups have raised concerns that reducing the erosion at Montauk would increase erosion at other Long Island
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
es, as there are always related effects to such infrastructure work.
On March 2, 2012
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
Ken Salazar
Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Ba ...
officially designated the lighthouse as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
; it is the 14th site on Long Island and the 11th lighthouse in the country to be so recognized.
The
announced on January 13, 2020 the award of a $30.7 million contract to H&L Contracting of Bayshore, New York, to restore and protect the lighthouse from shoreline erosion. Work is expected to start Spring 2020 and last approximately two years. The approximately 1,000 linear feet stone revetment work consists of removing and reusing existing five- and 10-ton armor stones, placement of new 10- and 15-ton armor stones, and providing slope stabilization with terracing and vegetation above the upper crest of the revetment. The total project is anticipated to cost $30.7 million. Costs are shared by the project’s sponsors.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection ...
is committing $15.4 million in NY Works funding as the project’s non-federal sponsor. The local sponsor, the Montauk Historical Society, will maintain the site after construction is complete.
Suffolk Transit's 10C bus route serves the lighthouse, connecting it with
Montauk Village.
Pirate
Captain Kidd
William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...
was said to have buried treasure at the foot of the lighthouse site around 1699 at two ponds which today are called "Money Ponds."
Pirates and Prohibition - Excerpted From ''East Hampton History,'' by Jeannette Edwards Rattroy - 1953
(republished on longislandgeneology.com - Retrieved 2007-01-12)
Gallery
File:Look_out_from_top_LH.JPG, View from the top of the lighthouse
File:Montauk Point Lighthouse 2008.jpeg
File:Montaukpointlight.jpg
File:Montauk Lighthouse on NOAA chart.jpg, Montauk Point Lighthouse, on a NOAA nautical chart
A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land (topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the coa ...
References
Notes
Further reading
Books by Henry Osmers, published by Outskirts Press:
*''On Eagle's Beak: A History of the Montauk Point Lighthouse'', 2008.
*''Living on the Edge: Life at the Montauk Point Lighthouse 1930–1945'', 2009.
*''They Were All Strangers: the Wreck of the John Milton at Montauk, New York'', 2010.
*''American Gibraltar: Montauk and the Wars of America'', 2011.
External links
The Official Montauk Point Lighthouse Web Site
New York State Parks: Montauk Point State Park
{{authority control
East Hampton (town), New York
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, New York
National Historic Landmarks in New York (state)
National Historic Landmark lighthouses
Museums in Suffolk County, New York
Lighthouse museums in New York (state)
Tourist attractions on Long Island
Lighthouses in Suffolk County, New York
1796 establishments in New York (state)
Lighthouses completed in 1796