Additional information as well as the history for each of ourl area lighthouses is provided courtesy of volunteers from the U.S. Lighthouse Society. We gratefully acknowledge their efforts as well. Our local Lighthouses are listed below.
EXECUTION ROCKS LIGHT
WEST END LONG ISLAND SOUND
Station Established: 1849
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1850
Operational? YES
Automated? YES 1979
Deactivated: n/a
Foundation Materials: DRESSED STONE/TIMBER
Construction Materials: GRANITE W/BRICK LINING
Height: 60 feet tall with a focal plane of 62 feet
Tower Shape: CONICAL
Markings/Pattern: WHITE WITH BROWN BAND MIDWAY
Relationship to Other Structure: ATTACHED
Characteristics: Flash every 10 seconds
Original Lens: Fourth Order Fresnel, 1856
Chronology:
* 1847, March: Congress appropriated $25,000 for the light to be built.
* 1849, May: Construction was completed.
* 1850: The lighthouse was first lit.
* 1856: A fourth order Fresnel lens was installed.
* 1868: The keeper's quarters were added and no longer had to live in the cramped space inside the tower.
* 1918. December 8: A fire with an unknown origin caused $13,500 in damages. The engine house and machinery were destroyed, the tower and oil house were damaged and the windows, woodwork, gutters and eaves were also damaged.
* 1979, December 5: The lighthouse was automated. A VEGA lantern replaced the Fresnel lens.
* 2002: The lighthouse is still an active aid to navigation.
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STEPPING STONES LIGHT
OUTER EDGE OF REEF/LONG ISLAND SOUND
Station Established: 1877
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1877
Operational? YES
Automated? YES 1967
Deactivated: n/a
Foundation Materials: GRANITE/CONCRETE PIER
Construction Materials: BRICK
Tower Shape: SQUARE
Markings/Pattern: RED BRICK/GRANITE TRIM, B/W LANTERN
Relationship to Other Structure: INTEGRAL
Original Lens: FIFTH ORDER, FRESNEL 1877
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THROGS NECK LIGHT
Location: ON THE NORTHEASTERLY SIDE OF FORT SCHUYLER, SOUTHEASTERLY END OF THROGS NECK AND ON THE NORTHERLY SIDE OF THE ENTRANCE FROM LONG ISLAND SOUND INTO THE EAST RIVER
Station Established: 1827
Year Current / Last Tower(s) First Lit: 1906
Operational: No
Automated: No
Deactivated: 1934
Tower Shape / Markings / Pattern: White, square, pyramidal, skeleton iron tower; lantern, black (1890); Red brick cylindrical tower (1906)
Height: 64-1/4-feet (1890); 35-feet (1906)
Original Lens: Fifth Order (1890); Fourth Order (1906)
Characteristic: Fixed white
Fog Signal: Bell struck by machinery every 15 seconds
HISTORICAL INFORMATION:
* Original wooden lighthouse established in 1827. It was torn down during the construction of the fort.
* A new wooden tower replaced the original lighthouse in 1835. It remained in service until 1890.
* Replaced by a skeletal tower in 1890.
* An oil house was built in 1896.
* Skeletal tower replaced in 1906 with a 35-foot red brick tower. It's location was 700 feet southwest of the old light.
* Light discontinued in 1934 and replaced by a small skeleton tower surmounted with a small signal lamp.
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WHITESTONE POINT POST LIGHT
Location: ON WHITESTONE POINT, SOUTHERLY SIDE OF EAST RIVER
Station Established: 1889
Year Current / Last Tower(s) First Lit: 1889
Operational: Yes
Automated: N/A
Deactivated: N/A
Tower Shape / Markings / Pattern: Square pyramidal frame tower on piers; lower part, white; upper, wood-color (1889); black skeleton tower (post-1915)
Height: 20-feet
Original Lens: Lens lantern
Characteristic: Fixed white
Fog Signal: Bell struck by machinery a double blow every 30 seconds