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 Barnegat Lighthouse, NJ
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Barnegat Lighthouse, Barnegat, New Jersey-- 1600's Dutch explores named the inlet of the northern end of Long Beach Island Barendegat which means "Inlet of Breakers"Shoals, located offshore create the breakers and are a dangerous hazard for vessels going through this section of New Jersey. Seals occasionally wintered on the shoals some people called them Sea Dog Shoals. 1834 Winslow Lewis decided to build a Lighthouse here. it stood between forty and fifty feet tall with a light consisting of eleven lamps set in fourteen inch reflectors. Henry V. Low was the first keeper of the light from August 3, 1835 to March 12, 1838 till his death. Mariners were dissatisfied with the quality of the light they said a flashlight would be preferable. Even after the installation of a fourth order Fresnel lens it was still considered inadequate. 1856 a first order light was ordered Lieutenant W.S. Reynolds designed the tower while Lieutenant George Meade supervised the construction of the new lighthouse. Meade lead the northern troops to victory at Gettysburg. Before the tower was complete the old one was destroyed. The new Lighthouse was located 900 feet to the south to provide a buffer zone that would help with erosion. A temporary wooden light with the lantern room salvaged from the old lit was put up till they got the new one was built. 10 acres of land was bought on July 1, 1857 the worker started to build they dug deep into the sand to set a foundation for the 172 foot brick tower the outer wall had a thickness of 4 feet 6 inches at the base. and it had a spiral staircase with 217 treads that was supported by a central shaft.The Light was activated on January 1,1859 and had two keepers of the Light. On August 30, 1886 the tower lurched up and down and then swayed from north to south.It was checked over after the earthquake and it was not damaged. The lighthouse was turned over to the State of New Jersey 1926. The light was discontinued 1944 but the public stayed interested in the Light. The Light was closed to the public1988 because of needed repairs.The repairs were made and the Light was reopened to the public in June 1991, late 2008 it was announced that the Light would shine again in January 2009 . On January 1, 2009 at 5pm the Light was manually activated, signal of a white flash every 10 seconds can be seen along the New Jersey coast.This is a very peaceful place and a great place for sunsets.
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