Take A Visit To The Montauk Lighthouse Museum

This is a lighthouse that is located in Suffolk County New York. It is positioned on Long Island. It is part of the Montauk Point State Park system, and is very easy to find if you happen to be in the Hamlet of Montauk. It was built before any other lighthouse, in the state of New York, and it stands there today is one of the oldest active lighthouse on the East Coast. It is part of the National Register of Historic places, something that it was placed into back in 2012. Here is an overview of what you will find if you decide to visit it.

Description Of The Lighthouse

Lighthouse itself is built upon a firm foundation, one that was set up before the 1800s. It is 9 feet in thickness and extends several feet into the ground, constructed of sandstone which is why it is still there. The actual shape of this lighthouse is octagonal. It is painted white, yet you can also see a red band about the middle of the structure. This octagonal pyramidal structure is easy to see if you are in Montauk, and it uses eight whale oil lamps in order to provide light. It also has a horn that sounds off regularly. It is an active lighthouse that you can see for miles.

Why Was It Built?

When this was originally built, it was ordered under the Congress of George Washington, going all the way back to 1792. Representing the Chamber of Commerce at the time, they realized it was important to have a lighthouse at this exact location. It was designed and put up in the span of just a few years and has been in constant operation even up till modern times. Massive renovations did occur in the 1860s where larger lantern lights were added. Additionally, the height of the tower increased by over 30 feet, giving it more visibility for those that were coming to shore.

Who Maintains It?

Back in the 1940s, the United States Coast Guard began to provide maintenance for this lighthouse. It is now automated, which it has been since the 1980s, and it also offers a Museum that is open to the public. In the 1990s, Pres. Bill Clinton transferred the property of the lighthouse to the Montauk Historical Society. It is perfectly positioned on Turtle Hill, 300 feet away from the edge of the cliff, which is currently showing some signs of erosion.

If you have always wanted to see a lighthouse on the East Coast of the United States, the Montauk Lighthouse is the one that you should see. It has gone through many renovations, and yet over time, it is still the same lighthouse that it always was but just a little higher. In regard to funding, the United States Army Corps of Engineers announced in 2020 that millions of dollars were going to be dedicated to stopping shoreline erosion. By doing so, they are preserving one of the oldest lighthouses in the United States to preserve it for future generations.

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