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A painting by
Willy Mueller
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History
Barnegat Lighthouse
is
located on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, in
the town of
Barnegat Light, New Jersey.
The present
lighthouse is
the third on the tip of the island. The first
lighthouse was a 40 foot
masonry tower constructed in 1834. It had a miserable
reputation as a
lighthouse. It stood until 1856, when it became in
undulated by the sea
and toppled into the sea during Keeper James Fuller's
watch.
Fortunately, the circumstances had been foreseen and
the lamps had been
removed and replaced in a temporary wooden tower
constructed further
inland.
Construction began
on the
present lighthouse in 1857 and was completed in 1858.
Because of the
similarity in size to the Absecon Lighthouse to the
south, Barnegat
Lighthouse's light was given a different
characteristic to help
distinguish from its southerly comrade. The light at
Barnegat was a
first-order Flashing Fresnel which flashed once every
ten seconds at
each point of the compass. The lens was removed in
1927 when the
Barnegat Lightship took up station off Barnegat Inlet.
The lens was
sent to the Tompkinsville Lighthouse Depot on Staten
Island, New York.
In 1954, the lens was returned to the town of Barnegat
Light and now is
on exhibit in the Barnegat Light Historical Museum.
The museum is open
June & September on weekends from 2:00 p.m. to
5:00 p.m. and July
& August, daily from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Today, the
Lighthouse is
owned by the State of New Jersey and is the
centerpiece of Barnegat
Lighthouse State Park. The park address is Barnegat
Lighthouse State
Park, P.O. Box 167, Barnegat Light, New Jersey 08006.
The park is open
year round, but the lighthouse is normally only open
during the summer
season.
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