Sea Girt Light
Encyclopedia
The Sea Girt Light is a lighthouse
marking the inlet leading to the Wreck Pond in Sea Girt, New Jersey
. It hosted the first radio beacon mounted in a shore installation in the United States
.
and Navesink lighthouses, a distance of nearly 40 miles, was unlit in the 1800s, and in 1888 the Lighthouse Board requested funds to establish a light in this area. The original site was to be at Manasquan Inlet, just to the south of Sea Girt; however, the site was found to be unsuitable and the present lot was obtained on the beach at Sea Girt, near Wreck Pond. An L-shaped brick house with an integral tower was constructed, and the light was first exhibited in December 1896. This was the last shore lighthouse with an integral keeper's residence built on the east coast of the United States. Moving sand and erosion were problems from early on, but fencing in 1900 and steel pilings in the 1920s arrested the threat.
In 1921 Sea Girt Light was equipped with a radio beacon, the first such installation on a shore-based light. It was installed in conjunction with transmitters on the Ambrose and Fire Island lightships
; with a radio direction finder, a ship could fix its position accurately through triangulation from the three sites.
At the outset of World War II
, the light was deactivated and the lens removed; the house was remodeled to serve as a dormitory for a Coast Guard observation post. After the war, an aerobeacon was mounted atop the tower; but in 1955 the light was decommissioned and a beacon on a steel tower was erected on the lawn. The lighthouse was offered to the state, but when they declined, the borough of Sea Girt purchased the lighthouse instead. It was used for the town library and for meeting space for many years, and in 1981 care of the building was taken over by the Sea Girt Lighthouse Citizens Committee, an independent non-profit dedicated to restoring and maintaining the lighthouse. This restoration was accomplished, and the building is now available both for tours and for a variety of meetings; the beacon was removed from the external tower and placed in the old lantern, now operated as a private aid to navigation. In 2002 the committee purchased the fourth order Fresnel lens
originally used in the Crowdy Head Light
in New South Wales
, Australia
for $20,000, a sum equal to that originally appropriated for construction of the light station.
See also
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....
marking the inlet leading to the Wreck Pond in Sea Girt, New Jersey
Sea Girt, New Jersey
Sea Girt is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,828.Sea Girt was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 29, 1917, from portions of Wall Township, based on the results of a referendum...
. It hosted the first radio beacon mounted in a shore installation in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The New Jersey shore between the BarnegatBarnegat Light
Barnegat Light may refer to:*Barnegat Light, New Jersey, a borough in New Jersey*Barnegat Lighthouse, a lighthouse in the borough of Barnegat Light...
and Navesink lighthouses, a distance of nearly 40 miles, was unlit in the 1800s, and in 1888 the Lighthouse Board requested funds to establish a light in this area. The original site was to be at Manasquan Inlet, just to the south of Sea Girt; however, the site was found to be unsuitable and the present lot was obtained on the beach at Sea Girt, near Wreck Pond. An L-shaped brick house with an integral tower was constructed, and the light was first exhibited in December 1896. This was the last shore lighthouse with an integral keeper's residence built on the east coast of the United States. Moving sand and erosion were problems from early on, but fencing in 1900 and steel pilings in the 1920s arrested the threat.
In 1921 Sea Girt Light was equipped with a radio beacon, the first such installation on a shore-based light. It was installed in conjunction with transmitters on the Ambrose and Fire Island lightships
Lightvessel
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...
; with a radio direction finder, a ship could fix its position accurately through triangulation from the three sites.
At the outset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the light was deactivated and the lens removed; the house was remodeled to serve as a dormitory for a Coast Guard observation post. After the war, an aerobeacon was mounted atop the tower; but in 1955 the light was decommissioned and a beacon on a steel tower was erected on the lawn. The lighthouse was offered to the state, but when they declined, the borough of Sea Girt purchased the lighthouse instead. It was used for the town library and for meeting space for many years, and in 1981 care of the building was taken over by the Sea Girt Lighthouse Citizens Committee, an independent non-profit dedicated to restoring and maintaining the lighthouse. This restoration was accomplished, and the building is now available both for tours and for a variety of meetings; the beacon was removed from the external tower and placed in the old lantern, now operated as a private aid to navigation. In 2002 the committee purchased the fourth order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
originally used in the Crowdy Head Light
Crowdy Head Light
Crowdy Head Light is an active lighthouse located at Crowdy Head, a headland between Forster and Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. It is registered with the Register of the National Estate.-History:...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for $20,000, a sum equal to that originally appropriated for construction of the light station.
See also
- Barnegat LighthouseBarnegat LighthouseBarnegat Lighthouse or Barnegat Light, colloquially known as "Old Barney", is a historic lighthouse located in Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, in the borough of Barnegat Light, New Jersey, on the south side of Barnegat Inlet.-19th century:The development of...
- Sandy Hook LighthouseSandy Hook Lighthouse__notoc__The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. It was designed and built in 1764 by Isaac Conro...
- Navesink Lights Lighthouse