Notes:
(1) The Nineteenth Light established in America, the fourth Light constructed by the Federal Government and the First Lighthouse started and completed by the Federal Government.

      The Lighthouse was built on Turtle Hill, Long Island’s eastern most point 297-feet from the edge of a high bluff, to mark the rocky Montauk Point that extended into the new transatlantic trade route. Heavy loss of shipping and trade occurred around this hazardous point due to the treacherous reefs, shoals and frequent dense fog.

      During the Revolutionary War, the British Royal Navy kept a huge bonfire burning to serve as a beacon to the British Fleet blockading Long Island Sound.
 
      On April 12, 1792, the Second U.S. Congress passed an act to erect a “Light-House on Montok point” to guide shipping away from the perilous rocks and appropriated $255.12 to purchase the land.  Three years later, President George Washington authorized construction of Montauk Point Lighthouse on Aug 18, 1795.

      John McComb, Jr., architect and brick mason, was awarded the contract with lowest bid of $22,300.
Construction of New York State’s first lighthouse began June 7, 1796 and was completed on Nov 5, 1796.
The 80-feet high octagonal Tower was erected using brown Connecticut sandstone shaped into blocks at Chatham, NY.  The base of the Lighthouse is 28-feet in diameter with 9-feet thick walls tapering to 3-feet thick walls at the top.  The Tower was built on a 13-feet deep foundation located 390-feet from the edge of the ocean.  A 10-feet high octagonal lantern room glazed with storm panes and 13 whale oil lamps was installed on top of the Tower.

      The Light was First Lit one year later on Nov 5, 1797 because the ship transporting a supply of whale oil was caught in a violent storm and went aground at Napeague Beach, 14-miles down the coast.  The Lighthouse exhibited a Fixed White light 100-feet above sea level.  The illuminant was whale oil until the late 1850s when sperm whales became scarce and prices soared.  As with most Lighthouses, the illuminant was changed to lard oil until kerosene became economically available in the early 1870s.

      For 89 years, the Lighthouse was another symbol of the New World seen as a welcoming beacon by immigrants sailing from Europe to New York.  In 1886, the Statue of Liberty replaced both Montauk Point Lighthouse and Boston Harbor Lighthouse as a beacon of freedom.

      During the War of 1812, the British navy prowled around the Lighthouse.  Schooners, whaleboats, revenue cutters, smuggler’s ships, and transatlantic shipping have been guided by the Lighthouse.

      In 1857, the illuminating apparatus was refitted with a temporary First-order Fresnel Lens exhibiting a Fixed light interrupted every two minutes by a brilliant flash of light 154-feet above sea level with a range of 20-miles.  In 1860, the Tower was raised an additional 14-feet for a Service Room, required for the pedestal and revolving apparatus of the lens, and a Watch Room for the Keeper on duty.  A new First-Order Lantern Room, designed to accommodate the radius and height of a first order lens with glazing corresponding to the upper, middle, and lower sections of the Fresnel lens, was installed.  The Tower’s wooden floors and stairs were replaced by a new spiral iron stairway built in a new circular brick stairwell.  These extensive renovations were required for a First-order Light Station raising the Tower to its current height of 110-feet with a focal plane of 168-feet.

      In 1873, a Foghorn was installed sounding a 12-second Blast every 50 seconds.  In 1897, a Fog Signal House was built for the engines and compressors used to power a dual siren fog signal.  Currently, this house contains the automated equipment for the electric beacon and fog horn of the lighthouse.

      In 1900, the Day-mark was changed to a brown band midway a white Tower.
In 1904, the First-order Fresnel lens was replaced with a Three and a half-order bivalve “clamshell” Fresnel lens.  The Light’s Characteristic was changed to Flashing White every 10 seconds.

      In 1938, the Lighthouse was converted to Electric Power yet the clockwork mechanism for the rotation of the Fresnel lens was wound by hand every 4-hours until 1961.
In 1961, the clockwork mechanism was replaced by a electric motor and the Flashing Characteristic was reduced to five seconds.

      During World War II, the Lighthouse became part of the Eastern Coastal Defense Shield guarding New York.  In 1942, a Fire Control Station was constructed at the Lighthouse to coordinate artillery fire for the two 16-inch guns at Gun Battery 112, located adjacent to Fort Hero.  The concrete bunker is still visible within a short walk from the Lighthouse.

      By 1968, erosion threatened to undermine the Lighthouse.  As with all low-lying sandy coastal areas, the land is constantly changing due to powerful storms and ocean waves.  Due to the expense of relocating the Lighthouse, the Coast Guard had plans to build an automated light on a steel tower farther inland.  The plan was canceled due to local efforts to save the Lighthouse and a new method of erosion control.

      In 1969, the Coast Guard allowed Giorgina Reid to terrace eastern and northeastern faces of the bluff using her patented method of reed-trench terracing.  Giorgina began building her system of stepped terraces on Earth Day, April 22, 1970.  The reed grass is effective in deterring erosion due to deep roots that support the plantings above them.  Giorgina and her husband, Donald, completed the terracing in 1985 and her method has permanently stopped the erosion on these faces of the bluff.  Since 1987 when Giorgina retired, the Montauk Historical Society and the N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation have stabilized almost all of Montauk Point.

      On Feb. 3, 1987, the Lighthouse was automated and the bivalve Fresnel lens was replaced with a DCB-224 revolving airport beacon using a low-maintenance lens and a 1,000-watt, 2.5 million candlepower bulb in front of a parabolic mirror to exhibit a Flashing White light with a range of 24 nautical miles.  On April 1, 1987, the U.S. Coast Guard leased the Keepers’ house to the Montauk Historical Society.

      A Radio Room was the communication center for the lighthouse, where weather and radio beacon signals were transmitted.  A radiobeacon transmitted MP (_ _  ._ _.) III, Morse code identification signal for Montauk Point, at 286-kHz to a range of 125 miles, to guide shipping during poor visibility.  Since Jan. 30, 1996, Montauk Point has been a site of the Coast Guard Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS).  DGPS is a radio navigation system that receives GPS positioning information, calculates real-time corrections to that information, and transmits those corrections over select marine radiobeacon transmitters.  DGPS also provides navigational accuracy within 10-meters (32.8-feet) whereas GPS standard positioning accuracy is 100-meters (328-feet).

      From March 16,1998 to April 16, 1999, the exterior of the lighthouse tower was restored by the International Chimney Corp.  Loose mortar joints, cracks in the sandstone, and the metal-work was repaired.  The Tower was repainted after removal of the old paint to ensure a secure bond of the new paint.

Montauk Point Lighthouse is the Fourth oldest active lighthouse in the United States.

(2) Optics Refitted:

1838: 18 Lamps with 14.5" Parabolic Reflectors, FW
1842: 13 Lamps with 18" Reflectors, FW
1850: 15 Lamps with 21" Reflectors, FW
1857: First-order Fresnel Lens, FW v Fl [Fixed White varied by Flash]
1904: A Three and a half-order Bivalve Fresnel Lens was installed after the clockwork mechanism of the First-order Fresnel lens failed to rotate the black glass eclipsing panel.
1987: DCB-224 Aerobeacon and the removed Three and a half-order Bivalve Fresnel Lens is on Display in the Museum.

(3) Fog signals:

1873: First-class Daboll trumpet, 12-second Blast every 50 seconds
1898: First-siren Siren
1939: Air-diaphragm Horn, Two second Blast every 13 seconds

(4) Directions From New York City, New York:
     I-495 East (Long Island Expressway) to Exit 70, Turn onto Route 111 South (Manorville Rd) to Route 27, Turn onto Route 27 East (Sunrise Highway which becomes Montauk Highway) to Montauk Point.

The Montauk Historical Society maintains the Lighthouse and operates the Gift shop and Museum.

Montauk Point Lighthouse Museum
Montauk Historical Society
2000 Montauk Point State Parkway, Rt 27, next to Montauk Point State Park
Montauk, NY 11954
Phone: 631-668-2544, Toll Free: 1-888-Mtk-Point (outside 631 Area Code)
eMail, Website

(5) Poet Walt Whitman was inspired by the Lighthouse to add 5 lines to to his poem, Leaves of Grass subtitled “From Montauk Point.”