Princes Bay Light
Encyclopedia
The Prince's Bay Light is a lighthouse
on the highest point of the southern shoreline of Staten Island
, New York in the Pleasant Plains
neighborhood. It is situated on a 85 ft (25.9 m). bluff overlooking Raritan Bay
with an attached brownstone cottage which served as the lightkeepers house. The bluffs the lighthouse is situated on are part of the terminal moraine
, the southern terminus of the Wisconsin Glacier which receded 10,000 yrs. ago. They are the tallest ocean-facing bluffs in New York State.
The current lighthouse was constructed in 1864 for the sum of $30,000 which was approved by Congress. The attached lightkeepers cottage was completed in 1868.
The Princes Bay Lighthouse was deactivated in August of 1922, after the installation of acetyline lights in Raritan Bay made the former lighthouse obsolete. The Mission of the Immaculate Virgin at Mt. Loretto, a Catholic orphanage founded by Father John Christopher Drumgoole
purchased the lighthouse, cottage and an additional outbuilding in 1926.
In 1953, a rear range light
was put up on Mt. Loretto, southeast of the lighthouse. The U.S. government paid $32 per year to lease the small parcel of land from the mission.
The lighthouse, the bluffs and 145 acre (0.5867947 km²) of surrounding upland and 49 acres (198,296.1 m²) were purchased in 1999 from the Archdiocese of New York by New York State and the Trust for Public Land. The area, now known as the Mount Loretto Unique Area
, is a New York State park maintained by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The lighthouse cottage currently serves as the residence for park rangers.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
on the highest point of the southern shoreline of Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York in the Pleasant Plains
Pleasant Plains, Staten Island
Pleasant Plains is a neighborhood located on Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, New York, the most populous city in the United States....
neighborhood. It is situated on a 85 ft (25.9 m). bluff overlooking Raritan Bay
Raritan Bay
Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on the south by the Raritan...
with an attached brownstone cottage which served as the lightkeepers house. The bluffs the lighthouse is situated on are part of the terminal moraine
Terminal moraine
A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a moraine that forms at the end of the glacier called the snout.Terminal moraines mark the maximum advance of the glacier. An end moraine is at the present boundary of the glacier....
, the southern terminus of the Wisconsin Glacier which receded 10,000 yrs. ago. They are the tallest ocean-facing bluffs in New York State.
The current lighthouse was constructed in 1864 for the sum of $30,000 which was approved by Congress. The attached lightkeepers cottage was completed in 1868.
The Princes Bay Lighthouse was deactivated in August of 1922, after the installation of acetyline lights in Raritan Bay made the former lighthouse obsolete. The Mission of the Immaculate Virgin at Mt. Loretto, a Catholic orphanage founded by Father John Christopher Drumgoole
John Christopher Drumgoole
John Christopher Drumgoole was an Irish Roman Catholic priest. He emigrated to the United States at the age of 9 from his native Ireland. He became an ordained priest at the age of 52...
purchased the lighthouse, cottage and an additional outbuilding in 1926.
In 1953, a rear range light
Leading lights
Leading lights are a pair of light beacons, used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; and may also be used for position fixing. At night, the lights are a form of leading line that can be used for safe navigation...
was put up on Mt. Loretto, southeast of the lighthouse. The U.S. government paid $32 per year to lease the small parcel of land from the mission.
The lighthouse, the bluffs and 145 acre (0.5867947 km²) of surrounding upland and 49 acres (198,296.1 m²) were purchased in 1999 from the Archdiocese of New York by New York State and the Trust for Public Land. The area, now known as the Mount Loretto Unique Area
Mount Loretto Unique Area
Mount Loretto Unique Area is a open space reserve and nature preserve administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on Staten Island, New York. Mount Loretto has approximately one mile of shoreline fronting Prince's Bay and Raritan Bay.Along the shoreline are the...
, is a New York State park maintained by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The lighthouse cottage currently serves as the residence for park rangers.