Plum Island Lighthouse

Year Built

1869

Cost

$4,000

Type

Octagonal

Height

35 feet

Location

Plum Island

Automated Year

1978

First Lit

1870

Lens Type

10 whale oil lamps (1827) - Sixth-order fresnel (1856) - Fourth-order fresnel (1897)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1978

Color

White w/black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Paul Palumbo ( – 1978)

Description

The Plum Island Lighthouse is not open for public visits except for community stakeholder groups.

Brief History

•  In 1856, a fourth-order Fresnel lens that produced a white flash every thirty seconds replaced the array of lamps and reflectors.
•  The lighthouse’s slate roof, which leaked badly, was replaced in 1878 with a shingle roof, and the fog bell was raised about ten feet higher on the bell frame that same year so it could be better heard.
•  Coast Guard personnel were removed from Plum Island in 1978, and the lighthouse was replaced by a flashing white light mounted on a fourteen-foot-tall brick shed.
•  In 1994, the Fresnel lens was removed from the lighthouse and moved to the East End Seaport Museum in Greenport, where it is on display.
•  On April 24, 2007, a resolution was passed by the Town of Southold that will transfer ownership of the lighthouse to the town.