Montauk Lighthouse Blog Post
by Amanda Ackermann
The lighthouse at Montauk Point is a revolution era lighthouse that is still in use today. The actual light of the lighthouse is as fascinating and historic as the history of the structure itself. A kerosene-lit lantern was used to light the way for sailors in the Atlantic until 1858, when the Fresnel lens was installed. The lens was added to strengthen the beam farther out at sea and to add a series of flashes that can help sailors identify the lighthouse as Montauk Point.
This image is just a part of the Fresnel lens that was placed atop the lighthouse, as the full set can stand well over 6 feet tall. This lens replaced the first lens in 1903 and stood in place until 1987, when the modern one was installed. Fresnel was a French inventor that used the concept that light can be transferred via waves to manipulate the light to go farther and emit a stronger signal. The lens was sent to America Nowadays, a modern Fresnel lens is used with an electric and automatic light. The Coast Guard maintains the light and makes sure it still functions properly.. Below is the light as it is today.
Below is an example of what the LED light bulb looks like. Amazingly enough, the light bulb itself is quite tiny compared to the light it emits. The lenses do all the work in transferring the light across the water.
Montauk Lighthouse Museum: Montauk and WWII
by Stephen Havens
Montauk became an area of interest during WWII due to its location at the tip of Long Island, and close proximity to New York City. If an invasion of the United States were to occur, Montauk was a possible candidate. In 1942 the United States Army assumed control of all the land in Montauk and named it Camp Hero. Although no invasion ever occurred, a freight ship was sunk by a German U-853 submarine in May 1945 and throughout the duration of the war the lighthouse was often dimmed, in a form of light discipline to make it more difficult to see Allied vessels passing by. Pictured below (MTK1) is a sketch of the layout of Camp Hero. Following the conclusion of World War Two, Camp Hero was closed, and only continued as a training facility, then was taken over by the Coast Guard.
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| (MTK1) Photo credit: http://www.skylighters.org/camphero/largemap.gif |
Two 16-inch battery guns were installed at Camp Hero, Battery 112 and Battery 113. These guns were connected to each other via a 500-foot underground tunnel. Both guns had a range of more than 20 miles from the coast. Battery 113 was in service from 1943-1959 and Battery 112 (MTK3) was in service from 1944-1957. Neither gun was ever fired in combat. Due to significant erosion, one of the smaller battery guns (MTK2) fell off the side of the cliff and onto the rocks below the lighthouse and is still there to this day.
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| MTK2 |
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| (MTK3) Photo credit: https://www.camphero.net/timeline/coastdefense/battery112 |
Montauk Lighthouse Museum: Long Island Shipwrecks
by Jennifer Repp
Navigating the waters surrounding Long Island was, and continues to be, a challenge for ships. This model (Montauk_1) shows the 28 lighthouses from Manhattan to Rhode Island (this picture shows the eastern part of the model). These lighthouses serve to guide sailors around the forks and into Long Island Sound.
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| Montauk_1 |
Despite the many lighthouses, there have been hundreds of shipwrecks around Long Island. These can be attributed to several factors including the high volume of vessels that navigated these waters, the complex coastline, and weather conditions. This image (Montauk_2) shows the location of 20 prominent Long Island shipwrecks, many caused by running aground.
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| Montauk_2 |
Pictured here (Montauk_3) is a model of the HMS Culloden, a 1659 ton British Royal Navy battleship. She ran aground during a winter storm in January of 1781 and then burned to the waterline. Her whole crew of 650 survived. The location of the shipwreck, Will’s Point, has since been re-named Culloden Point. On the map above (Montauk_2), this is shipwreck number 1. Standing on the shore of Montauk point (Montauk_4) on a relatively calm day, the wind and waves still seem powerful. You can imagine how a storm’s swells hide the rocks and shallow sand bars from a sailor’s view. Feeling the swift breeze, you can imagine the strong winds carrying ships in towards land and huge waves smashing their wooden hulls into the shore. With these forces, combined with the Long Island’s complex coastline, the frequency of shipwrecks in the area is hardly surprising.
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| Montauk_3 |
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| Montauk_4 |
Erosion of the Montauk Lighthouse Bluffs
by Sabrina Simone
When you visit the Montauk Lighthouse and gaze out into the open waters in front of it, you would be surprised that it once stood almost 300 feet from the water. Ezra L’Hommedieu chose the site in the late 1790’s and gave it 200 years until it ended up in the sea. While, 200 years have passed, the lighthouse is still standing today. Yet, it currently stands 90 feet from the breaking waves of the ocean. This is due to the growing issue of erosion. Caused by the breaking waves, storms, and even ground water, the bluffs protecting the Montauk Lighthouse have subsided greatly.
While some have thought to protect the bluffs by bringing in more sand or boulders, these methods did not work efficiently. In the 1970’s, the federal government began consideration to destroy the lighthouse and reconstruct a new one a few hundred feet farther back. It was Giorgina Reid who would help save the lighthouse.
Reid did not have any science background but used experience from protecting her own home from the Long Island Sound. Making their way up the bluff, she built terraces using lumber that were filled with a mixture of sand and reeds. She planted beach grass on top of each terrace to help reinforce the sand (Figure 1). Constructing Reid’s erosion control took a few years to complete but was completed using the help of countless volunteers (1). Today, her work is still standing and continues to protect the stability of the bluffs surrounding Montauk Lighthouse (Figure 2).
Figure 1 – The front page of an article with a cartoon illustrating how Giorgina Reid’s erosion control works. This article is on display at the Montauk Lighthouse Museum.
Figure 2 – A photo I took of Giorgina Reid’s erosion control currently in effect. I was standing on some boulders placed between the bluffs and the ocean for reinforcement.
Sources
1. Bleyer, Bill. “Her Light Still Shines / How ‘a Little Old Lady’ Named Giorgina Reid Stopped the Montauk Lighthouse from Tumbling into the Sea.” Newsday, Newsday, 2 June 2009.
It would seem Long Islanders have always wanted visitors to leave
by Adam Dean
However, since the foundation of the United States, this has proven to be quite a difficult sentiment. As Tumbleweed Tuesday came and went, these past few days have been quite irritating. Although the allotted memorial day-labor day time slot has now expired, I as a Long Islander still don’t have access to whatever parking spot I want, as I cruise down main street in Hampton Bays.
The reason I write about this, is that as I recently visited the Montauk Lighthouse; I was unexpectedly thrown into one of our country’s great forgotten stories – one that in a way explains our shared stubborn nature. Before the building of the Montauk Lighthouse was commissioned by our president George Washington in 1796, the soon to be fledgling United States was thrust into a war for its independence against the military might of the queen. One of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War happened in part right under the current site of the Montauk Lighthouse, and it involved George Washington leading the continental army, full of many Long Islanders, in a stubborn losing battle to try and maintain our island from being taken, as a strategic occupation site outside the transit hub of New York City.
The Battle of Long Island was a show of effort for many Long Islanders back in the day, and many people did as much as they could to try and keep from the inevitable British occupation. One smart yet comical strategy one of the generals had was to have the soldiers march the length of the beach at turtle cove in Montauk, and when they got to the end of the perimeter, they would walk back through the woods, change their coats inside out and go march it again to give the appearance of a much larger army. This is one of the factors which would cause the British to land further west on the island when their main invasion force arrived. Unfortunately for the Americans, Britain had one of the largest, and most impressive naval fleets of its’ day, and which led to them having a terrible advantage over the northeastern coastline. This was especially true of Long Island, which was vulnerable from all sides. Long Island was attacked from both the north and south, with the British focusing largely between Brooklyn Heights and Staten Island so that they could set up shop and aim at the rest of New England.
Although the battle was fairly sad for our home troops in terms of ground lost, it was arguably more important in terms of morale gained. If the Continental Army would stick around and fight for middle of nowhere Montauk and Staten Island, they really would stand and fight for their freedom in any circumstance. Another thing that the Americans did gleam from the Battle of Long Island was weaponry. The Continental Army began the battle without a single cannon, however somewhere in the mix; they did end up with one as they retreated. This is likely due to a shipwreck or one that was otherwise lost by the British, and because they had so many they decided to leave it behind rather than risk lives over worthless equipment. The downright loss at the Battle of Long Island allowed the British to occupy Long Island for the rest of the Revolutionary War. This overall resentment of visitors is very understandable considering that Long Island was known for housing its rowdy patriots, much like the rest of the northeast colonies.
The hallelujah felt by those who live here truly does goes back to a time when Long Island couldn’t even be called a part of its’ own country, and it goes back to a time before the coastline of our waters knew the Montauk lighthouse. The occupation of Long Island lasted for years, and to be honest I think I’d take up arms too if I had to go years without my precious freedoms and quiet beach access. The Montauk Lighthouse truly is an important sliver of Long Island’s history that we all should experience as locals- I highly recommend it as both a historical site of interest, and as a way to understand why we get so irritable come the end of the summer.
Trip to the Montauk Lighthouse
by Ana Shore
This week, our Coastal Culture Experience class took a trip to the Montauk Lighthouse. This lighthouse has been standing as a sentinel on the east end of Long Island for over 200 years. Throughout its history on the East End, it has served several important functions, including its current role as a museum. Aside from the indoor exhibits and the view from the top of the lighthouse, there is still another feature that many visitors find significant.
This feature is a statue outside the lighthouse that serves as a tribute to fishermen lost at sea. The monument was constructed about 20 years ago and is adorned on the base with the names and ages of those that were lost at sea while fishing. The monument shows a fisherman hauling in a line at the stern of his boat. The fact that only half the boat is shown in this memorial is characteristic of statues about shipwrecks. This powerful focal point at the edge of the sea remains important to the families of the lost fishermen and the history of the East End.
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A view of the Montauk Lighthouse from the surrounding beach. Barely visible to the right of the white surveillance tower is the Lost at Sea Monument.
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A close up view of the memorial at the Montauk Lighthouse. Just visible on the middle row of the base are the names of those that have been lost at sea.
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