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History
For a long time known at High Point, both the town and the
lighthouse
take their names from a little Baptist Church erected
there in 1809.
Chapel Hill Lighthouse (latitude 40° 23' 51" by longitude
74°
3' 33")( Map) was erected in 1856, and was an rear range
light. It
worked with the Conover Beacon on the shore of Sandy Hook
Bay at
Leonardo. Together, the lights marked the Main Channel
Range into Sandy
Hook Bay.
The Chapel Hill Lighthouse was built by Richard Carlow,
Jr., upon a
three acre tract once owned by Timothy Mount, and
purchased by the
government in 1853 for the purpose of constructing a
lighthouse
thereupon. Its 40 foot tower was erected on the roof line
of a severe
one & a half story dwelling. The lighthouse was
constructed on a
mountain at an elevation 224 feet above sea level. It
showed a second
order fixed white light which was visible from a distance
of twenty one
nautical miles. The lighthouse was electrified in 1924.
The lighthouse was used until 1957, when an automatic
tower on the edge
of the site was placed into service and the light in the
lighthouse
discontinued. The lighthouse was sold at auction by the
General
Services Administration. Bids were ordered to be received
in New York
by 2:00 p.m. November 30, 1959. The buyer was Thomas
Consorti, a
Manhattan businessman, who purchased the property as a
Christmas
present for his 20 year old son, Peter, an amateur
astronomer who hoped
to establish an observatory on the site. The property sale
brought the
government $16,313.00. The lighthouse has passed through a
number the
hands of a number of owners, but remains a private
residence.
This light was the rear range light
that
worked in conjunction with the Conover Beacon.
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