| Location | Sandy Hook, New Jersey |
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| Coordinates | |
| 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 |
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Sandy Hook Light
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| Built: | 1764 |
| Architect: | Unknown |
| Architectural style: | No Style Listed |
| Governing body: | U.S. Coast Guard |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000468[1] |
| NJRHP #: | 2029[2] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL: | January 29, 1964[3] |
| Designated NJRHP: | May 27, 1971 |
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.[4] It was designed and built in 1764 by Isaac Conro. At that time, 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 a half miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip.
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 Benjamin Tupper,[5] and a subsequent occupancy of British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
Sandy Hook Lighthouse, which was restored in spring 2000, is part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. During summer weekends, the New Jersey Lighthouse Society offers free tours every half hour from 12:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
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