Barnegat Lighthouse

Year Built

1835

Cost

$6,000

Type

Conical

Height

169 feet

Location

North end of Long Beach Island, off Broadway Avenue, Barnegat Light

Automated Year

1927

First Lit

1857 (current tower)

Lens Type

Fourth order Fresnel lens (original), 1st order Fresnel lens (1857), VRB-25 (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1944–2009

Color

White bottom half - Red top half - White lantern

Last Keeper - Date

William E. Rothas (lamplighter) (1932 – 1940)

Description

The original first order Fresnel lens is currently located at the Barnegat Light Museum, located in town. It is currently open to the public for climbing.

Brief History

•  Even with the installation of a fourth-order Fresnel lens in 1854, the lighthouse was still considered an inadequate coastal beacon.
•  The light was activated on January 1, 1859 and was kept by the head keeper and his two assistants, who lived in accommodations constructed near the base of the tower.
•  In 1924, a bill, allocating $100,000 towards the preservation of Barnegat Lighthouse, was introduced in Congress.
•  Barnegat Lighthouse was discontinued in 1944, but public interest in Old Barney continued.
•  In late 2008, it was announced that a new beacon atop the tower would shine forth at dusk on January 1, 2009, 150 years since the lighthouse was first activated.