Rondout Light 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 m ...

on the west side of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the Unite ...

Nomenclature

*The official name in the Coast Guard Light List is Rondout Creek Leading Light. *The National Register name, Kingston/Rondout 2 Lighthouse comes from its location in a series of day beacons and lights in Rondout Creek. Number 2 is the first on the right hand side. *The USCG history site calls it Rondout Creek (Kingston) Light.

History

The first lighthouse at the entrance to the Rondout Creek was a wooden one built in 1837. It was replaced by a second lighthouse, made of sturdier bluestone, in 1867. The bluestone lighthouse was abandoned after 1915 and torn down in the 1950s. Only its circular stone foundation remains today."Rondout Lighthouse", Hudson River Maritime Museum
/ref> The current lighthouse was built in 1915, replacing the earlier 1867 lighthouse. In 1954 the light was automated and the building closed. The

National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (NHLPA; Public Law 106-355; 16 U.S.C. 470w-7) is American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally owned lighthouses into private hands. It was created as an extension ...

provides for the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

to declare some lighthouses surplus, and for their ownership to be transferred to historical, non-profit or local government entities following an application process and review. Nine lighthouses were identified in the fall of 2001 as part of a pilot program to transfer such lighthouses. Rondout Light was one of those nine.NHLPA 2001 Transfer Pilot Program
/ref> Rondout Light was transferred from the Coast Guard to the City of Kingston in 2002.Hudson Lights
/ref> It is currently managed by the non-profit

Hudson River Maritime Museum The Hudson River Maritime Museum is a maritime museum dedicated to the Hudson River. It is located at 50 Rondout Landing at the foot of Broadway in Kingston, New York, United States, along Rondout Creek in the city's old waterfront, just east ...

. It was 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 ...

in 1979. ''See also:''

References

{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1938 Houses completed in 1938 Lighthouses completed in 1915 Houses completed in 1915 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Hudson River Kingston, New York National Register of Historic Places in Ulster County, New York Transportation buildings and structures in Ulster County, New York Rondout Creek