- Navesink Twin Lights
-
Navesink Twin Lights 
The historic Twin Lights of Highlands, New Jersey Location Highlands, New Jersey Coordinates 40°23′46.4″N 73°59′8.8″W / 40.396222°N 73.985778°W Year first lit 1862 Automated 1949 Deactivated 1898 (north tower); 1952 (south tower)
north tower relit in 1962Navesink Light Station
Navesink Light StationLocation: Highlands, New Jersey Built: 1862 Architect: Joseph Lederle Governing body: State NRHP Reference#: 06000237
[1]Significant dates Added to NRHP: February 17, 2006 Designated NHL: February 17, 2006[2] The Navesink Twin Lights is a non-operational lighthouse and museum located in Highlands, New Jersey overlooking Sandy Hook Bay, the entrance to the New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. The Twin Lights, as the name implies, are a pair of beacons located 246 feet (75 m) above sea level on the headlands of the Navesink Highlands.
In 1962, the State of New Jersey acquired Twin Lights. At the current museum facility, tours of the lighthouse, a climb of the North Tower and its expansive ocean view, and a view of the lighthouse equipment, await visitors. Twin Lights is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.
The Twin Lights State Historic Site is part of the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route.
History
A lighthouse existed on the site since 1828, when it became an important guide and landmark for ships navigating the treacherous entrances to New York Harbor.
The current lighthouse was constructed in 1862. The non-identical towers by day and the two beacons by night—one flashing and one
fixed—allowed ready identification by mariners of the identity of the facility, thus allowing a rough determination of their location approaching the harbor.This was the first American lighthouse to test a Fresnel lens and was also the site of a demonstration by Marconi of the wireless telegraph in 1899.[3] A bi-valve fresnel lens is on display in the museum.[4]
The north tower light was discontinued in 1898; at the same time the south tower was electrified, one of the first lighthouses in the United States to be so equipped. It was automated in 1949, but was discontinued in 1952 as the importance of the light diminished.
In 1962, the site was turned over to the state of New Jersey, which installed a sixth order lens and reactivated the north tower as a private aid to navigation. This light remains active.
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ "Navesink Light Station". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2008-06-23. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-1408641946&ResourceType=District.
- ^ Twin Lights NHL Dedication
- ^ Ricks Lighthouses
External links
- Official site
- Lighthouses of New York Harbor - Navesink Twin Lights
- Navesink Lighthouse and Robbins Reef Lighthouse: Lighting the Way Through New York Bay, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
Lighthouses of New Jersey Absecon Light • Barnegat Lighthouse • Brandywine Shoal Light • Brigantine Lighthouse • Cape May Light • Chapel Hill Rear Range Light • Conover Beacon • Cross Ledge Light • East Point Light • Elbow of Cross Ledge Light • Finns Point Range Light • Great Beds Light • Hereford Inlet Light • Ludlam's Beach Light • Miah Maull Shoal Light • Navesink Twin Lights • Robbins Reef Light • Romer Shoal Light • Sandy Hook Light • Sea Girt Light • Ship John Shoal Light • Tinicum Island Rear Range Light
New Jersey Historic Sites Allaire Village • Barnegat Light • Batsto Village • Boxwood Hall • Cape May Light • Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal • Clarke House • Craig House • Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park • Blackwells Mills Canal House • Mule Tenders Barracks • Port Mercer Canal House • Prallsville Mills • Double Trouble Village • Fort Mott • Grover Cleveland Birthplace • Hancock House • The Hermitage • Hillman Hospital House • High Point Monument • Indian King Tavern • Johnson Ferry House • Long Pond Ironworks Historic District • Monmouth Battlefield • Old Dutch Parsonage • Princeton Battlefield • Ringwood Manor • Rockingham • Skylands Manor & State Botanical Garden • Somers Mansion • Steuben House • Trenton Battle Monument • Navesink Twin Lights • Wallace House • Walt Whitman House • Washington Crossing • Waterloo Village • Whitesbog Village
U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Lists by states Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • WyomingLists by territories Lists by associated states Other Categories:- Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places
- Lighthouses in New Jersey
- National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey
- Museums in Monmouth County, New Jersey
- Lighthouse museums in New Jersey
- Buildings and structures completed in 1862
- National Historic Landmark lighthouses
- Highlands, New Jersey
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
