The Prince's Bay Light (officially: John Cardinal O’Connor Light) is an active

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 ...

on the highest point of the southern shoreline of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

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 * '' ...

, in the Pleasant Plains neighborhood. It is situated on an bluff overlooking Raritan Bay with an attached brownstone cottage which served as the lightkeeper's house. The bluffs are part of the southern terminal moraine formed by the Wisconsin Glacier which receded 10,000 years ago.

History

The current lighthouse was constructed in 1864 for the sum of $30,000 which was approved by Congress. The attached lightkeeper's cottage was completed in 1868. Both buildings were designated as NYC Landmarks on June 28, 2016. The Prince's Bay Lighthouse was deactivated in August 1922 after the installation of acetylene lights in Raritan Bay made the former lighthouse obsolete. The Mission of the Immaculate Virgin at Mt. Loretto, a Catholic orphanage founded by Father

John Christopher Drumgoole John Christopher Drumgoole (August 15, 1816 – March 28, 1888) was an Irish American Roman Catholic priest who was known for his work in caring for and educating orphaned and abandoned children in New York City, especially homeless newsboys. In ...

, purchased the lighthouse, the cottage and an additional outbuilding in 1926. In 1953, a rear range light was put up on Mt. Loretto, southeast of the lighthouse. The United States government paid $32 per year to lease the small parcel of land from the mission.Northeast Lights: Lighthouses & Lightships, Rhode Island to Cape May, New Jersey by Robert G. BachandPublisher: Sea Sports Pubns (September 1993) Language: English The lighthouse, the bluffs and of surrounding upland and were purchased in 1999 from the Archdiocese of New York by New York State and the

Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

. The area, now known as the

Mount Loretto Unique Area Mount Loretto Unique Area is an open space reserve and nature preserve administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. The area's total size is , of which is underw ...

, is open to the public and maintained by the

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 ...

. The lighthouse cottage currently serves as the residence for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Ranger Police Officer. The tower received a

VRB-25 The VRB-25 is a lighthouse optical system designed and built by Vega Industries Ltd. in Porirua, New Zealand. It was originally designed in 1993-95 with the assistance of the United States Coast Guard to meet USCG requirements for a robust m ...

optical system which was placed on top of the lighthouse in 2006.

References

{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1864 Houses completed in 1868 Lighthouses in Staten Island New York City Designated Landmarks in Staten Island