Barnegat Lighthouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Location: | Barnegat Light, New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
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| Year first lit: | 1859 |
| Deactivated: | 1944 |
| Tower shape: | Conical tower |
| Height: | 165 ft (50 m) |
| Original lens: | First-order Fresnel lens |
| Characteristic: | Flashed once every ten seconds |
Barnegat Lighthouse is located in Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, in the borough of Barnegat Light, New Jersey, USA. It sits along the Barnegat Inlet.
In June 1834, Congress appropriated $6,000 for construction of a lighthouse at the north end of Long Beach Island. Work soon began on the 40-foot tower, and Barnegat Lighthouse was put into commission in 1835. Its non-flashing, fifth-class light was deemed inadequate by mariners of the day.
In 1855, Lt. George G. Meade, a government engineer, was assigned to design a new lighthouse. Meade, an 1835 West Point graduate, had recently designed the Absecon Lighthouse, but he earned his place in history in the American Civil War. (Promoted to brigadier general, it was Meade who defeated General Robert E. Lee in the Battle of Gettysburg).
Encroaching seas threatened the original lighthouse so its light was installed atop a temporary wooden tower in June 1857 and the original lighthouse fell into the sea later that year.
Meade submitted his construction plans in 1855, and construction began in late 1856. The new tower would be four times as tall as the previous and cost about $40,000. It was built about 100 feet south of the original because erosion in the inlet remained a problem.
The current lighthouse is really two towers in one. The exterior conical tower covers a cylindrical tower on the inside.
Barnegat Light, the second tallest lighthouse in the United States, was commissioned January 1, 1859. The tower light was 165 feet (50 m) above sea level. The light at Barnegat was a first-order Flashing Fresnel lens which flashed once every ten seconds at each point of the compass. It remained a first-class navigational light until August 1927, when the Barnegat Lightship was anchored 8 miles (13 km or 15 km) off the coast. The lens was sent to the Tompkinsville Lighthouse Depot on Staten Island, New York. The tower's light was reduced over 80 percent, but it was not extinguished until January 1944. In 1954, the lens was returned to the borough of Barnegat Light and now is on exhibit in the Barnegat Light Historical Museum. The lightship was removed in 1965, made obsolete by electronic navigation.
[edit] The lighthouse today
In 1988, the lighthouse was closed for repair. It re-opened to visitors in 1991. Although its high-intensity light no longer functions, the tower is flood-lit at night and a lantern is lit from dusk to dawn. This lantern is visible out to the horizon on clear nights, but is not intended to be visible during inclement weather (though an active foghorn is still present at the opposite end of the inlet). The top of the lighthouse is accessible via its 217 steps and continues to attract thousands of visitors every summer.
Barnegat Lighthouse was the nominal titular subject of Situation Barnegat Light (ISBN 0-96-493420-5), a science fiction novel published in 1995 by Long Beach Island area resident Bradford Honigsberg.
[edit] External links
- A History of the Barnegat Lighthouse
- Barnegat Lighthouse State Park
- Barnegat Lighthouse - from Lighthousefriends.com
