Romer Shoal Lighthouse

Year Built

1838

Cost

$40,000

Type

Sparkplug

Height

54 feet

Location

South of Ambrose Channel

Automated Year

1966

First Lit

1898

Lens Type

Fourth-order Fresnel lens (original), 7.5 inches (190 mm) (current)

Fog Signal

Horn: 2 every 30s

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

White bottom, red top including lantern

Last Keeper - Date

James P. Morrissey (1965 – 1966)

Description

The lighthouse is owned by John Vincent Scalia. The tower is closed.

Brief History

•  In 1883, the owners of several steamships plying the waters of New York Bay sent a petition for a light on Romer Shoal to the Lighthouse Board.
•  The present fifty-four-foot sparkplug lighthouse, erected atop the existing pier on the shoal in 1898, originally stood on the grounds of the Staten Island Lighthouse Depot.
•  In 1919, following World War I, six signal quartermasters from the Navy were crammed into the lighthouse along with the three regular keepers to monitor all vessels entering and leaving New York Harbor.
•  Another tragedy occurred at Romer Shoal on September 16, 1935, when a launch, overloaded with supplies from the lighthouse tender Tulip, sank and lead to the drowning of five men.
•  The Romer Shoal Lighthouse sustained significant damage in the fall of 2012 when Hurricane Sandy, made landfall on October 29 as a category 1 hurricane near Brigantine, New Jersey.