New Jersey - Barnegat Lighthouse

This lighthouse is located in Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, at the northern tip of Long Beach Island, NJ. The lighthouse is the third to be built on or near the tip of the island.

The first lighthouse was a 40-foot masonry tower constructed in 1834. It has a miserable reputation as a lighthouse. It stood until 1856 when it became inundated by the sea and finally toppled into the sea. Fortunately, the circumstances had been foreseen, and the lamps had been removed to a temporary wooden tower constructed further inland.

Construction of the present lighthouse began in 1857 and was completed in 1859. It is 163-feet tall with a red band painted around the top half of the tower and a white band around the bottom portion. Because of the similarity in size to the Absecon Lighthouse located to the south, Barnegat was given a different day marking. This helped mariners to distinguish it from its southerly comrade, which has a white tower with a wide black band painted around the middle of the tower.

The first-order flashing Fresnel Lens, the largest one installed and the last lens to operate in the Barnegat Light, was removed in 1927. This occurred after the Barnegat Lightship took up station off the Barnegat Inlet. The lens was sent to the Tompkinsville Lighthouse Depot on Staten Island, NY. Years later, in 1954, the lens was returned to the town of Barnegat Light and is on exhibit in the Barnegat Light Historical Museum.

This lighthouse is owned by the State of New Jersey. At the time of my visit here in 2001 the lighthouse was an inactive light, and normally only open to the public during the summer season.