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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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