Cedar Island Lighthouse, northwest harbor, New York, New York
CEDAR ISLAND LIGHT (OLD)
Location: SAG HARBOR, GARDINERS BAY, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
Station Established: 1839
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1868
Operational: NO
Automated: 1934
Deactivated: 1934
Foundation Materials: MASONRY PIER
Construction Materials: GRANITE
Tower Shape: SQUARE
Markings/Pattern: UNPAINTED GRANITE
Relationship to Other Structure: INTEGRAL
Original Lens: SIXTH ORDER FRESNEL, 1855
Historical Information:
- The original lighthouse built on Cedar Island was a 35 foot wood framed tower. It was built to guide ships into Sag Harbor. In 1855, the original lamp was replaced with a sixth order Fresnel lens.
- The iron work needed to support a sixth order lens is heavy and the wooden tower was found to be inadequate. In 1868, the current structure was built.
- The integral keeper’s quarters are L-shaped with the 40 foot tower tucked into the bend. The lens from the wooden tower was placed in the new tower.
- In 1938 Cedar Island became Cedar Point when a hurricane created a sandbar that connected the island to the mainland. The lighthouse had been deactivated in 1934.
- The lighthouse has fallen victim to vandals and time. A fire in 1974 severely damaged the interior. The roof was replaced and the windows bricked over.
- There is interest in restoring the structure. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and the oil house, built in 1902, was restored in 2004.
Researched and written by Melissa Buckler-Smith, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.