The Waackaack Rear Range Light was built in 1856. It stood about 96 feet (29.3 m) tall. Although it stood near the water’s edge, it was the rear range light in conjunction with the Point Comfort Light on the beach. The light's main purpose was to guide vessels coming into the Raritan Bay. It was initially made of wood but was replaced in the 1860s by an iron tower.

History

In 1883 a high-powered electric lamp was installed that was magnified by a glass lens. Preparations were made to replace the light-tower beginning in 1891. The tower built for use at the Waackaack Rear Range Light Station was part of the United States Lighthouse Board's exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition

World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...

 held in Chicago in 1893. This lighthouse was built of iron rings, and as the site for the lighthouse was not ready for its erection at the time the light tower was completed, it became possible for the lighthouse to become an exhibit at the Exposition.

When the Borough of Keansburg

Keansburg, New Jersey

Keansburg is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 10,105.Keansburg was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 26, 1917, from portions of both Middletown Township and Raritan Township ,...

officially incorporated as a Borough in 1917, it adopted the outline of the Waackaack Range Light as its seal. By the end of the 1950s the lighthouse was dismantled and sold for scrap.