150th anniversary celebration of the Barnegat Lighthouse begins today
From Press staff reports
Published: Saturday, October 11, 2008
BARNEGAT LIGHT - The 150th anniversary celebration of the Barnegat Lighthouse begins today in a countdown to the relighting of the tower in January. Today's festivities, from
11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., include lectures and three concerts.The lighthouse will shine again Jan. 1, 150 years to the day after it first began operating. A smaller light will replace the original 10-foot-by-8-foot light that included a kerosene lamp. That light remains at the Barnegat Light Historical Museum.The original light, a huge glass beehive, sat on a large copper carousel and had to be turned each hour.
The new light has a self-controlled table inside. It measures 20 inches high and 20 inches wide. Although smaller than the original, it will cast its light just as far.Barnegat Lighthouse is 172-feet tall, with an interior staircase of 217 steps. It stands on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, although it the island stretched northward about 900 feet when the beacon was built . The land eroded to nearly the base of the lighthouse by the early 20th century. In an effort to protect the lighthouse, the community threw baby carriages, scrap timber and old cars into the inlet to create a protective, makeshift jetty. According to the New Jersey Lighthouse Society, the first lighthouse was a 40-foot masonry tower constructed in 1834 that had a miserable reputation. It stood until 1856, when it toppled into the sea during keeper James Fuller's watch. A temporary tower was built while the lighthouse was being replaced. Construction began on the present lighthouse in 1857 and was completed in 1858. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1944.
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