Barnegat Lighthouse Totally Explained

Everything about Barnegat Lighthouse totally explained

Barnegat Lighthouse, colloquially known as "Old Barney", is located in Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, in the borough of Barnegat Light, New Jersey, in the United States. It sits along the Barnegat Inlet.

19th century

The development of the original lighthouse began in June 1834 with the appropriation of $6,000 from Congress. The 40-foot tall lighthouse was commissioned the next year, though mariners at the time considered the building's non-flashing, fifth-class light to be inadequate. Due to the strong currents within the inlet, the lighthouse was built 900 feet away from the ocean; but within ten years after the initial construction was complete only 450 feet separated the tower from the shore.
In 1855, Lt. George G. Meade, a government engineer and later a Union hero in the American Civil War, was assigned to design a new lighthouse. He was chosen largely because of his recent design of the Absecon Lighthouse. Meade completed the construction plans in 1855 and work began in late 1856. Due to continuing erosion at the time of construction, the new lighthouse was located approximately 100 feet south of the original structure -- the site of which is now submerged. During construction, in June 1857, the light in the original structure was relocated to a temporary wooden tower located nearby. This was prompted by the encroaching seas which threatened the original lighthouse and ultimately caused the tower to collapse into the water later that year. It is due to the rough waters of the area that several jetties have been built throughout the history of both lighthouses.
Barnegat Light was commissioned on January 1, 1859. The tower light was 165 feet (50 m) above sea level and the lighthouse itself was four times taller than the original; and today stands as the third tallest lighthouse in the United States. The new light was a first-order Flashing Fresnel lens which flashed once every ten seconds at each point of the compass. The total cost of the project, at the time, was approximately $40,000. The current lighthouse is really two towers in one: the exterior conical tower covers a cylindrical tower on the inside.

20th-21st centuries

The lighthouse's beacon remained a first-class navigational light until August 1927, when the Barnegat Lightship was anchored 8 miles (13 km or 15 km) off the coast. This prompted the automation and the replacement of the first-order lens with a gas blinker. As a result, the tower's light was reduced by over 80 percent. The gas blinker was replaced several weeks later with a 250 watt electric bulb, though the gas apparatus can still be seen at the top of the tower.
The lens was sent to the Tompkinsville Lighthouse Depot on Staten Island, New York. However, the lighthouse's beacon wasn't extinguished until January 1944, when it was decommissioned by the Coast Guard and given to the State of New Jersey. Four years later, in 1948, the local municipality Barnegat City renamed itself Barnegat Light. In 1954, the lens was returned to the borough of Barnegat Light and now is on exhibit in the Barnegat Light Historical Museum. The area around the lighthouse was declared a State park and dedicated in 1957. The lightship was removed in 1965, made obsolete by electronic navigation.
In 1988, the lighthouse was closed for repair. It re-opened to visitors in 1991. Although its high-intensity light no longer functions, the tower is flood-lit at night and a continuous lantern is lit from dusk to dawn. This lantern is visible out to the horizon on clear nights, but isn't intended to be visible during inclement weather (though an active foghorn is still present at the opposite end of the inlet). The top of the lighthouse is accessible via its 217 steps and continues to attract thousands of visitors every summer.

Popular Culture

Barnegat Lighthouse was the nominal titular subject of Situation Barnegat Light (ISBN 0-96-493420-5), a science fiction novel published in 1995 by Long Beach Island area resident Bradford Honigsberg. It is also depicted on New Jersey's "Shore Conservation" license plates and on the 1996-1997 Federal Duck Stamp.

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