Sandy Hook Light
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| Sandy Hook Light | |
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| Location: | Sandy Hook, New Jersey |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
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| Year first lit: | 1764 |
| Automated: | 1965 |
| Deactivated: | N/A |
| Foundation: | Stone |
| Construction: | Rubble |
| Tower shape: | Octagonal |
| Height: | 103 ft |
| Original lens: | 3rd order Fresnel lens |
| Range: | 19 nautical miles (35 km) |
| Characteristic: | Fixed white lighted throughout 24 hours |
The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. It was designed and built in 1764 by Isaac Conro.
The light was built to aid mariners entering the southern end of the New York harbor. 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. Sandy Hook Light has endured an attempt to destroy it (as an aid to British navigation) by artillery Captain Alexander Hamilton, and a subsequent occupancy of British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Perhaps most impressively, it has endured exposure to the elements on the end of Sandy Hook. The view of the New York skyline from the bridge crossing into "the Hook" illustrates the importance this light played in the history of New York harbor. During the summer weekends, the New Jersey Lighthouse Society offers free tours every half hour from 12:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
When the lighthouse was built in 1764, it stood only 500 feet (150 m) from the tip of Sandy Hook; however, today, due to growth caused by littoral drift, it is almost one and half miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip. Sandy Hook Lighthouse is part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse was restored in spring 2000.
[edit] External links
- Sandy Hook Lighthouse at American Byways
- New Jersey Lighthouse Society Home Page: Sandy Hook Lighthouse
- Sandy Hook Lighthouse- from Lighthousefriends.com
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