__NOTOC__ The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip of Sandy Hook,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, is the oldest working

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

in the United States. It was designed and built on June 11, 1764 by Isaac Conro. At that time, it stood only from the tip of Sandy Hook; however, today, due to growth caused by

littoral drift Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle, shells) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming w ...

, it is almost inland from the tip. It was listed as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1964 and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on October 15, 1966, for its significance in commerce and transportation.

History

The light was built to aid mariners entering the southern end of the

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

. 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 British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

navigation by Benjamin Tupper, 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". 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.

Today

Sandy Hook Lighthouse, which was restored in spring 2000, is part of the Sandy Hook Unit of

Gateway National Recreation Area Gateway National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area in New York City and Monmouth County, New Jersey. It provides recreational opportunities that are not commonly found in a dense urban environment, including ocean swimming, b ...

administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. Tour times can be found at the park website. The view from the top includes the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, Sandy Hook Bay and the New York City skyline. Sandy Hook Lighthouse in 2021

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 ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

''.

Notes

External links

* *
Sandy Hook Lighthouse at American Byways
* ttp://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=378 Sandy Hook Lighthousefrom Lighthousefriends.com {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1764 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey National Historic Landmark lighthouses Sandy Hook, New Jersey Gateway National Recreation Area Middletown Township, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Monmouth County, New Jersey 1764 establishments in New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Transportation buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey Historic American Buildings Survey in New Jersey

History

Today

In popular culture

See also

Further reading

Notes

External links