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      • Owls Head Lighthouse, Maine
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      • Popham Beach Life Saving Station
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      • Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Prospect Harbor Lighthouse, Maine
      • Pumpkin Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Ram Island Ledge Light, Maine
      • Ram Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Robinson Point Lighthouse on Isle Au Haut, Maine
      • Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, Maine
      • Rockland Harbor Southwest Light, Maine
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      • Seguin Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Southern Island Light, Maine
      • Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, Maine
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      • Two Bush Island Lighthouse, Maine
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    • California Lighthouses
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      • Lynde Point Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Morgan Point Lighthouse, Connectitcut
      • Mystic Seaport Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • New London Harbor Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • New London Ledge Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Penfield Reef Lighthouse
      • Race Rock Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Sheffield Island Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Stamford Harbor Lighthouse
      • Stonington Harbor Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Stratford Point Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Stratford Shoal Lighthouse
      • Tongue Point Lighthouse
    • Delaware Lighthouses
      • Harbor of Refuge Light, Delaware
      • Delaware Breakwater Lighthouse, Delaware
      • Fenwick Island Lighthouse
      • Liston Rear Range Light
      • Overfalls Lightship, Delaware
      • Mispillion Lighthouse, Delaware
      • Reedy Island Rear Range Light
      • Marcus Hook Rear Range Light
    • Florida Lighthouses
      • Amelia Island Lighthouse, Florida
      • American Shoal Lighthouse, Florida
      • Cape Canaveral Light, Florida
      • Cape Florida Lighthouse, Florida
      • Crooked River Lighthouse
      • Faro Blanco Light, Florida
      • Garden Key Lighthouse, Florida
      • Gasparilla Island Lights, Florida
      • Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse, Florida
      • Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
      • Key West Lighthouse, Florida
      • Loggerhead Key Lighthouse, Florida
      • Pensacola Lighthouse
      • Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, Florida
      • Sand Key Lighthouse, Florida
      • Sanibel Island Lighthouse, Florida
      • St. Augustine Lighthouse, Florida
      • St. John's River Lighthouse, Florida
      • St. Marks Lighthouse, Florida
      • Sombrero Key Lighthouse
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      • Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia
    • Hawai'i Lighthouses
      • Diamond Head Lighthouse, O'ahu, Hawai'i
      • Kilauea Point Lighthouse, Kaua'i, Hawai'i
      • Lahaina Harbor Lighthouse, Mau'i, Hawai'i
      • Makapu'u Light, Oahu, Hawai'i
      • Moloka'i Lighthouse, Moloka'i, Hawai'i
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      • Point Lookout Lighthouse, Maryland
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      • Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, Maryland
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    • Massachusetts Lighthouses
      • Annisquam Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Baker's Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Bass River Lighthouse, Massachusetts
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      • Brant Point Lighthouse, Nantucket
      • Butler Flats Lighthouse, Massachusetts
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      • Cape Poge Lighthouse, Massachusetts
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      • Clark's Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Cleveland Ledge Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Deer Island Light, Massachusetts
      • Derby Wharf Light, Massachusetts
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      • East Chop Lighthouse, Massachusetts
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      • Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, Massachusetts
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      • Graves Light, Massachusetts
      • Great Point Lighthouse, Nantucket, Massachusetts
      • Highland Lighthouse, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
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      • Lewis Bay Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Marblehead Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Mayo's Beach Lighthouse
      • Minots Ledge Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Monomoy Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Nantucket Lightship, Massachusetts
      • Nauset Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Ned's Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Newburyport Harbor Range Lights, Massachusetts
      • Nobska Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Palmer Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Plum Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Plymouth Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Race Point Lighthouse, Cape Cod Massachusetts
      • Sandy Neck Lighthouse
      • Sankaty Head Lighthouse
      • Scituate Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Stage Harbor Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Straitsmouth Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Ten Pound Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Thacher Island Twin Lights, Massachusetts
      • Three Sisters of Nauset Lighthouses, Massachusetts
      • West Chop Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Wings Neck Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Winter Island Lighthouse
      • Brant Point Lighthouse, Nantucket MA
    • New Hampshire Lighthouses
      • Isles of Shoals Light, New Hampshire
      • Portsmouth Harbor Light, New Hampshire
    • New Jersey Lighthouses
      • Absecon Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Barnegat Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Brandywine Shoal Light, New Jersey
      • Cape May Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Chapel Hill Rear Range Light, New Jersey
      • Conover Beacon Front Range Light, New Jersey
      • East Point Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Finns Point Lighthouse
      • Fourteen Foot Bank Light, New Jersey
      • Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, North Wildwood, New Jersey
      • Miah Maull Shoal Light, New Jersey
      • Sandy Hook Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Sea Girt Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Ship John Shoal Light, New Jersey
      • Twin Lights of Navesink, New Jersey
      • Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse, New Jersey
    • New York Lighthouses
      • Ambrose Lightship, New York
      • Big Sodus Light, New York
      • Blackswell Island Light, New York
      • Buffalo Main Lighthouse, New York
      • Cape Vincent Breakwater Lighthouse, New York
      • Clayton Memorial Lighthouse, New Yrok
      • Coney Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Crossover Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Dunkirk Light, New York
      • Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, New York
      • Execution Rocks Lighthouse, New York
      • Fire Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Horton Point Light, New York
      • Montauk Point Lighthouse, New York
      • Ogdensburg Harbor Lighthouse, New York
      • Old Field Point Lighthouse, New York
      • Rock Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Rondout Creek Lighthouse, New York
      • Saugerties Lighthouse, New York
      • Selkirk Lighthouse, New York
      • Sister Islands Lighthouse, New York
      • Staten Island Light, New York
      • Stepping Stones Lighthouse
      • Stony Point Lighthouse, New York
      • Sunken Rock Lighthouse, New York
      • Tarrytown Lighthouse, New York
      • Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, New York
    • North Carolina Lighthouses
      • Bodie Island Light, North Carolina
      • Ocracoke Light, North Carolina
      • Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina
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      • Fairport Harbor Light, Ohio
      • Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light, Ohio
      • Marblehead Light, Ohio
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      • Cape Meares Light, Oregon
      • Cleft of the Rock Light, Oregon
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      • Presque Isle Lighthouse, Pennsylvania
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    • Lighthouse Trips
      • 2012-06-22 Penobscot Bay Cruise, Maine
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Absecon Lighthouse, New Jersey

The story of the Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City, NJ is one with many twists and turns. First, there was difficulty in getting the lighthouse built by the federal government. After the light had outlived its usefulness it was almost lost to the wrecker’s ball. But the light is also a story of perseverance by dedicated people who worked hard to save this icon of Atlantic City and its history for future generations.
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An iron spiral staircase of 228 steps leads to the lantern room.  The first lighting of the Absecon Light occurred on January 15, 1857 by Keeper Daniel Scull.
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An iron spiral staircase of 228 steps leads to the lantern room. The first lighting of the Absecon Light occurred on January 15, 1857 by Keeper Daniel Scull.

AbseconLight009

  • Dr. Jonathan Pitney arrived on Absecon Island in 1820 to establish his practice and soon became convinced of the healthful aspects of the area.  He became determined to develop the area and was involved in several plans to attract settlers.  He would later become memorialized as the 'Father of Atlantic City'.  In 1830 he petitioned the federal government to build a lighthouse at Absecon Inlet.  A decade later a Naval officer was sent to survey the area and he prepared a report stating there was no need for a lighthouse at that location.  Dr. Pitney however was not deterred, and continued to agitate for a light.
  • Unfortunately, shipwrecks continued in the area with regularity.  Pitney was successful in getting a rail line established between Philadelphia and Absecon Beach in 1854 resulting in a large influx of visitors to the shore.  At this time Absecon Beach was incorporated and renamed Atlantic City.  In April 1854 a ship of German immigrants was wrecked off Absecon Island with a loss of over 300 lives.  This tragic event in conjunction with the formation of the US Lighthouse Board led to an appropriation of $35,000 to build a coastal light tower in August 1854.  A parcel of land 700 feet from the sea was purchased for the lighthouse reservation for $520 and construction of the light began in 1855.
  • *The Absecon Lighthouse Oil House*<br />
The construction of the Absecon Light, as well as the Barnegat Light to the north, was supervised by Lt. George Meade.  The tower at 171 feet would be the tallest constructed in New Jersey and was completed in late 1856 after an additional appropriation of $17,000.  The only New Jersey light with a higher focal plane is the Navesink Twin Lights.
  • The tower was constructed with 598,634 bricks with a base diameter of 26 feet 4 inches which tapers to 12 feet at the top of the tower.  The inside diameter of the tower is a uniform 10 feet from the base to the top.
  • An iron spiral staircase of 228 steps leads to the lantern room.  The first lighting of the Absecon Light occurred on January 15, 1857 by Keeper Daniel Scull.
  • *A view of the Watch Room at the top of the Absecon Tower*<br />
The wood appointed room has a homey feel to it.  The pedestal of the fixed light dominates the room.
  • *A view of Atlantic City from the lantern of the Absecon Lighthouse*<br />
In the 1870's the shoreline experienced severe erosion and the sea came within 75 feet of the tower.  Jetties were constructed in an effort to retain the sand and stop the erosion.  They were so successful that the lighthouse eventually was several blocks from the shoreline and homes were built north of it.
  • The light was produced through the use of a four wick Funck's oil lamp and was projected by a fixed First Order Fresnel lens.  The lens was purchased for $6,400 and manufactured by the firm of L. Sautter &amp; Cie in Paris.  The range of the light was listed as 19 miles.  The light source was changed to an IOV lamp in 1910 and to an electric light in 1925.
  • The Absecon Light has been a chameleon over the years.  The tower retained its natural brick color until 1871 when it was painted white with a red band in the middle.  In 1895 the color scheme was changed to orange with a black band, and in 1907 it became a cream color with a black band.  This is the color scheme that is used today.  In later years the light was painted white with a blue band (the official Atlantic City colors) and white with a red band once again.
  • In a twist of irony, the development of Atlantic City which Dr. Pitney had envisioned also led to the decommissioning of the Absecon Lighthouse.  As the buildings of Atlantic City grew higher &amp; higher the light from the tower became obscured.  The Lighthouse Service extinguished the tower in July 1933 and moved the light to a skeleton tower near the beach.  The Federal government eventually transferred the lighthouse property to the city for use as a park.  The two keeper’s homes were demolished as the city could not afford their upkeep.  The city, unable to care for the tower, turned the property over to the State of New Jersey in 1966.  Things looked dark for the lighthouse.
  • After many years of neglect, in 1988 the Inlet Public/Private Association of Atlantic City began a project to rehabilitate the lighthouse and rebuild one of the Keepers houses.  Several million dollars were raised and work began in 1997, but tragedy struck in July 1998 (as shown in this picture) when the almost completed dwelling became a victim of arson and burned almost to the ground.  After years of litigation with the insurance company the dwelling was rebuilt and opened to the public in 2001.  Just as it had done at the beginning of the 20th century, the Absecon Lighthouse once again began hosting thousands of visitors in the 21st century.
  • An old postcard view of the Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City, New Jersey and the Head Keepers home.
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