Princes Bay Lighthouse

Year Built

1828

Cost

$30,000

Type

Conical

Height

30 feet

Location

Staten Island

Automated Year

2006

First Lit

1864 (Current tower)

Lens Type

Third-and-a-half-order Fresnel lens (original), VRB-25[1] (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1922-2006

Color

NAtural brownstone blocks

Last Keeper - Date

John F. Anderson (1917 – 1922)

Description

The lighthouse is not open to the public.

Brief History

•  In 1849, Silas Bedell, a former stagecoach driver, was appointed keeper of Princes Bay Lighthouse.
•  An 1851 inspection report described the buildings as dirty, the glass in the lantern as broken and cracked, and the keeper as “ignorant of his duties, and evidently not aware of the importance of keeping a good light.”
•  The keeper's house was built in 1868 and the carriage house in 1869.
•  Princes Bay Lighthouse was deactivated on August 31, 1922, after the placement of lighted buoys in Raritan Bay.
•  New York State and the Trust for Public Land jointly purchased the lighthouse and 145 acres of surrounding upland and 45 underwater acres from the Archdiocese of New York in 1999.