Sandy Hook Light

Infobox_Lighthouse

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caption =
location = Sandy Hook, New Jersey
coordinates = coord|40|27|42|N|74|00|07|W|region:US_type:landmark
yearlit = 1764
automated = 1965
yeardeactivated = N/A
foundation = Stone
construction = Rubble
shape = Octagonal
height = 103 ft
lens = 3rd order Fresnel lens
range = 19 nautical miles (35 km)
characteristic = Fixed white lighted throughout 24 hours Infobox_nrhp | name =Sandy Hook Light
nrhp_type = nhl
built =1764
architect= Unknown
architecture= No Style Listed
designated= January 29, 1964cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=331&ResourceType=Building
title=Sandy Hook Light|accessdate=2008-06-27|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = October 15, 1966
governing_body = COAST GUARD
refnum=66000468cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.americanbyways.com/index.php?catid=54 Sandy Hook Lighthouse at American Byways]
* [http://www.njlhs.org/njlight/sandy.html New Jersey Lighthouse Society Home Page: Sandy Hook Lighthouse]
* [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=378 Sandy Hook Lighthouse] - from Lighthousefriends.com