Esopus Meadows Light

Last updated
Esopus Meadows Light
Esopus Meadows Lighthouse 2011.jpg
Esopus Meadows Light
LocationWest side of Hudson River, Esopus, New York
Coordinates 41°52′6.2″N73°56′29.8″W / 41.868389°N 73.941611°W / 41.868389; -73.941611
Tower
Constructed1839
FoundationGranite pier on piles
ConstructionWood
Automated1965
Height17 m (56 ft)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
ShapeOctagonal on square house
MarkingsWhite house with red mansard roof
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Fog signal Bell (Removed)
Light
First lit1872 (current tower)
Deactivated1965–2003
Focal height52 feet (16 m)
Lens5th order Fresnel lens, 1872
Range6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi)
Characteristic Flashing White, 2.5s
Esopus Meadows Lighthouse
Arealess than one acre
Built1871
Architectural styleSecond Empire
MPS Hudson River Lighthouses TR
NRHP reference No. 79001638 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 29, 1979

Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, nicknamed "Maid of the Meadows" and often simply referred to as the Esopus Light or Middle Hudson River Light [2] is an active lighthouse on the Hudson River near Esopus, New York. [3] [2] [4] The lighthouse stands on the west side of the channel, in the river, its granite foundation built atop piles that have been driven into the riverbed, and is accessible only by boat.

Contents

Construction of the first lighthouse on the site began in 1838 when the land was ceded for $1.00 by the town of Esopus to the US government and the US government appropriated $6,000 to build the light. The light became active in 1839. It was a twin to the Rondout II lighthouse further north up the Hudson River. By 1867, however, the building was heavily damaged by flood and ice and funds for a new lighthouse were appropriated in 1870.

The current lighthouse was completed in 1871 and is the last wooden lighthouse in existence on the Hudson and the only Hudson lighthouse with a clapboard exterior. It was lit in 1872. One of a group of lighthouses in the Northeast built to an award-winning design by a Vermont architect, Albert Dow, Esopus Meadows Light has sister lights at Rose Island Light, Sabin Point, Pomham Rocks, and Colchester Reef. Esopus Meadows Light was closed in 1965 and by the 1990s it had fallen into a state of disrepair. The most serious problem was the deterioration of the foundation, which had begun to fall apart due to ice damage. [5]

The Save Esopus Lighthouse Commission leased the lighthouse from the United States Coast Guard in 1990 for the purposes of restoration. They eventually took ownership in September 2002, as part of the pilot program for the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. [6] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as Esopus Meadows Lighthouse.

Esopus Meadows Light is shown on the NOAA Chart 12347. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Red Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Manhattan, New York

The Little Red Lighthouse, officially Jeffrey's Hook Light, is a small lighthouse located in Fort Washington Park along the Hudson River in Manhattan, New York City, under the George Washington Bridge. It was made notable by the 1942 children's book The Little Red Lighthouse and The Great Gray Bridge, written by Hildegarde Swift and illustrated by Lynd Ward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabine Pass Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Louisiana, US

The Sabine Pass Lighthouse, or Sabine Pass Light as it was referred to by the United States Coast Guard, is a historic lighthouse, as part of a gulf coast light station, on the Louisiana side of the Sabine River, in Cameron Parish, across from the community of Sabine Pass, Texas. It was first lit in 1857 and was deactivated by the Coast Guard in 1952. One of only three built in the United States of similar design, the light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Sabine Pass Lighthouse" on December 17, 1981. It is now abandoned but has long continued to be the subject of preservation efforts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire Island Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in New York, United States

The Fire Island Lighthouse is a visible landmark on the Great South Bay, in southern Suffolk County, New York on the western end of Fire Island, a barrier island off the southern coast of Long Island. The lighthouse is located within Fire Island National Seashore and just to the east of Robert Moses State Park. It is part of the Fire Island Light Station which contains the light, keepers quarters, the lens building containing the original first-order Fresnel lens, and a boat house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stepping Stones Light</span> Lighthouse

Stepping Stones Light is a Victorian-style lighthouse in Long Island Sound, in Nassau County, New York. The lighthouse is square-shaped and made of red brick, standing one-and-a-half stories high. The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is a virtual twin of this structure. The light is in current use, under the management of the United States Coast Guard. It is not open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Execution Rocks Light</span> Lighthouse

Execution Rocks Light is a lighthouse in the middle of Long Island Sound on the border between New Rochelle and Sands Point, New York. It stands 55 feet (17 m) tall, with a white light flashing every 10 seconds. The granite tower is painted white with a brown band around the middle. It has an attached stone keeper's house which has not been inhabited since the light was automated in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Race Rock Light</span> Lighthouse

Race Rock Light is a lighthouse on Race Rock Reef, a dangerous set of rocks on Long Island Sound southwest of Fishers Island, New York and the site of many shipwrecks. It is currently owned and maintained by the New London Maritime Society as part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Island Light</span> Lighthouse on Rose Island, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

The Rose Island Light, built in 1870, is on Rose Island in Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States. It is preserved, maintained and operated by The Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stony Point Light</span> Lighthouse

The Stony Point Light is the oldest lighthouse on the Hudson River. It is located at the Stony Point Battlefield in Stony Point, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbins Reef Light</span> 1883 sparkplug lighthouse, Bayonne, NJ

The Robbins Reef Light Station is a sparkplug lighthouse located off Constable Hook in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, along the west side of Main Channel, Upper New York Bay. The tower and integral keepers quarters were built in 1883. It replaced an octagonal granite tower built in 1839. The U.S. Coast Guard owned and operated the light station until the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkner Island Light</span> Lighthouse in Connecticut, United States

Falkner Island Light, also known as the Faulkner Island Lighthouse, is a lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, on Falkner Island which is off Guilford Harbor on Long Island Sound. The lighthouse was constructed in 1802 and commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. The lighthouse has had three keeper's houses: the original house of 1802 was rebuilt in 1851 and then again in 1871. The 1871 keeper's house survived to 1976, when it was destroyed by fire; the Coast Guard repaired and automated the lighthouse two years later. A volunteer group, the Faulkner's Light Brigade, has undertaken the restoration and preservation of the lighthouse since 1991, completing the last major restoration work in March 2011. Access to Falkner Island and the light is restricted during the nesting season of the roseate terns from May to August yearly. The Falkner Island Lighthouse, as the second oldest extant lighthouse in Connecticut, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peck Ledge Light</span> Lighthouse in Connecticut, United States

Peck Ledge Light, also known as "Peck Ledge Lighthouse", is a sparkplug lighthouse in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States, southeast of Norwalk Harbor and northeast of Goose Island among the Norwalk Islands on Long Island Sound. The lighthouse is about two miles (3 km) from Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk and can be seen from the beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stratford Shoal Light</span> Lighthouse

Stratford Shoal Light, officially Stratford Shoal Light, is a lighthouse on a shoal in the middle of Long Island Sound approximately halfway between Port Jefferson, New York and Bridgeport, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson–Athens Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in New York, United States

The Hudson–Athens Lighthouse, sometimes called the Hudson City light, is a lighthouse located in the Hudson River in the state of New York in the United States. The light is located between Hudson and Athens, closer to the Hudson side. Constructed in 1874, it marks a sandy ridge known as Middle Ground Flats and also acts as a general aid to navigation of the river. The station is built on a granite caisson with a unique shape designed to protect it from ice floes and river debris. The dwelling is constructed in the Second Empire architectural style, with a mansard roof. It is considered to be virtually a twin of the Stepping Stones Light in Long Island Sound, which was constructed just a few years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light</span> Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

The Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Light, named for William Price Craighill, was the first caisson lighthouse built in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, USA. First lit in 1873, the range marks the first leg of the maintained Craighill Channel from the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Patapsco River into the Baltimore harbor and works in conjunction with the Craighill Channel Lower Range Rear Light. It was owned by non-profit organization Historical Place Preservation, Inc. from 2005 until the government took back the property in 2017 due to neglect. The lighthouse was put up for auction and sold to the highest bidder on September 15 2017 for $95,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Gull Island Light</span> Lighthouse

Little Gull Island Light is a lighthouse on Little Gull Island, a small island in Long Island Sound, located approximately 0.4 miles (0.6 km) northeast of Great Gull Island. Both islands are located in the Town of Southold, in Suffolk County, New York, and lie roughly midway between Plum Island and Fishers Island. Little Gull Island is approximately 4.6 miles (7.4 km) southwest of Fishers Island and the channel of water between them is the main entrance to Long Island Sound, known as "The Race".

The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 is American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally owned lighthouses into private hands. It was created as an extension of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saugerties Light</span> Lighthouse

Saugerties Light, known also as the Saugerties Lighthouse, is a lighthouse on the Hudson River north of Saugerties, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pomham Rocks Light</span> Lighthouse

Pomham Rocks Light is a historic lighthouse in the Providence River about 200 yards (180 m) off the shoreline of the Riverside neighborhood of the city of East Providence, Rhode Island. It is the northernmost lighthouse in Narragansett Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rondout Light</span> Lighthouse

Rondout Light is a lighthouse on the west side of the Hudson River at Kingston, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romer Shoal Light</span> Lighthouse

Romer Shoal Light is a sparkplug lighthouse in Lower New York Bay, on the north edge of the Swash Channel, about 34 nautical mile south of Ambrose Channel and 2+12 nautical miles north of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, in the entrance to New York Harbor. It is in New Jersey, very close to the border with New York. Named as Romer Shoal Light Station, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 24, 2007, for its significance in architecture, engineering, transportation, and maritime history.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: New York". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  3. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 317.
  4. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Downstate New York". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  5. Elise Marie Barry (February 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Esopus Meadows Light". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2010-03-20.See also: "Accompanying photo". Archived from the original on 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  6. Horrigan, Jeremiah (June 13, 2002). "Hudson lighthouses given as gifts". Times Herald-Record. Kingston, NY. Archived from the original on December 8, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  7. NOAA Chart 12347