Ship John Shoal Lighthouse

Year Built

1877

Cost

$50,000

Type

Upper Delaware Bay near the Bombay Hook

Height

46 feet

Location

Upper Delaware Bay near the Bombay Hook

Automated Year

1973

First Lit

1877

Lens Type

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

Fog Signal

Original: Bell, 3 every 45s - Current: Horn, 1 every 15s

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

Brown with black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Henry J. Lindemann (1970 – at least 1971)

Description

The brown, octagonal dwelling with pyramidal roof; on cylindrical pier is not open to the public.

Brief History

•  The shoals that the light marks was named after a ship that wrecked there in 1797. The light itself takes it name from that same ship.
•  With a new design for Ship John Shoal Lighthouse in hand, the Lighthouse Board petitioned Congress in 1872 for the necessary funding.
•  In 1907 additional riprap was dumped around the light, and about the same time a concrete platform was built on one of the two piles of rock in order to hold tanks for which there was no room in the light itself.
•  In 1988 the Fresnel lens was replaced. The lights 4th order lens is on display at the Coast Guard Group Air Station in Ponoma New Jersey.
•  In June 2011, Ship John Shoal Lighthouse was declared excess to the needs of the United States Coast Guard and offered to eligible organizations under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.