Ludlum Beach Lighthouse

Year Built

1885

Cost

$5,000

Type

Square

Height

36 feet

Location

Sea Isle City

Automated Year

1924 (skeleton tower)

First Lit

1885

Lens Type

Fourth order Fresnel lens

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1924 (original structure) - 1962 (skeleton tower)

Color

N/A

Last Keeper - Date

Robert L. Fulton (at least 1917 – at least 1921)

Description

September 21, 2010 the lighthouse was demolished.

Brief History

•  In 1888, part of the back porch was enclosed to create a summer kitchen, and the lighthouse’s attic was floored, lined, and partitioned to create two rooms.
•  The lighthouse’s wooden seawall was replaced by a concrete one in 1907, but even it could not withstand the battering, storm-driven waves, as it was damaged during a severe storm in 1914.
•  After thirty years at the lighthouse, Keeper Reeves retired in 1915 at the age of seventy.
•  A storm would roll through Sea Isle City on March 11, 1924, and tear away the canvas covering the damaged roof.
•  The skeletal tower served until it was dismantled following a storm that undermined the foundation on March 7, 1962.