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Barnegat Lighthouse Description and Photos

     Barnegat Light Station, New Jersey, Also known as "Ole Barney" came into existence on July 20, 1835, and had been built by Winslow Lewis.
     Located on the south side of Barnegat Inlet about forty five miles south of Sandy Hook, the light was apparently primarily a guide to the inlet; the tower was but forty feet high. In 1851, the Lighthouse Board found that the lamps had fourteeninch reflectors and figured the light was equivalent to a fifthorder lens.
The first order Barnegat lighthouse, New Jersey, about 1835. This light, 175 feet above sea level, was lighted in 1859 in an attempt to lessen the frequency of shipwrecks along the treacherous New Jersey coast.
Since Barnegat Light was usually the first one sighted by vessels from Europe and from the south, the Lighthouse Board in 1857 began construction of a new tower 900 feet south of the old one. Exhibited January 1, 1859, the new firstorder light was truly a seacoast light, since its focal plane was 175 feet above sea level. Through the years the light tower was often threatened by erosion, but brush jetties slowed the progress of the abrasion.
In 1926, the Bureau of Light Houses gave the station, except for the tower, to the state of New Jersey. The bureau continued to maintain an automatic light in the tower until January 1, 1944, when it decided to discontinue the light because the same job was being done by the Barnegat lightship, which had been established in 1927. The old tower still stands, and is viewed annually by thousands of seashore visitors.

Updated January 8, 2001 | © 1999, 2000, 2001, beachcomber.com