By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/nations-oldest-standing-continuously-operating-lighthouse-turns-250 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter America’s oldest working lighthouse turns 250 Nation Jun 11, 2014 6:48 PM EDT For 250 years the Sandy Hook lighthouse in New Jersey has guided sailors safely in and out of New York Harbor. Its original whale lamps were first lit on June 11, 1764. It survived the Revolutionary War, when it was controlled by the British and attacked by colonists. It survived two world wars — the only time it went dark to prevent enemies from finding New York Harbor. And more recently, it survived the ravages of Hurricane Sandy. The original Fresnel lens, made in Paris. Photo by Flickr user Bee Collins. Built out of a granite known as rubblestone, it was shored up in the 1850’s with three feet of brick inside. Now it lights the way for ships with a 1,000 watt bulb, magnified through the prisms of a Fresnel light. The beacon can be seen from 12-miles from the Atlantic Ocean. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin is an Emmy and Peabody award winning producer at the PBS NewsHour. In her two decades at the NewsHour, Baldwin has crisscrossed the US reporting on issues ranging from the water crisis in Flint, Michigan to tsunami preparedness in the Pacific Northwest to the politics of poverty on the campaign trail in North Carolina. Farther afield, Baldwin reported on the problem of sea turtle nest poaching in Costa Rica, the distinctive architecture of Rotterdam, the Netherlands and world renowned landscape artist, Piet Oudolf. @lornabaldwin
For 250 years the Sandy Hook lighthouse in New Jersey has guided sailors safely in and out of New York Harbor. Its original whale lamps were first lit on June 11, 1764. It survived the Revolutionary War, when it was controlled by the British and attacked by colonists. It survived two world wars — the only time it went dark to prevent enemies from finding New York Harbor. And more recently, it survived the ravages of Hurricane Sandy. The original Fresnel lens, made in Paris. Photo by Flickr user Bee Collins. Built out of a granite known as rubblestone, it was shored up in the 1850’s with three feet of brick inside. Now it lights the way for ships with a 1,000 watt bulb, magnified through the prisms of a Fresnel light. The beacon can be seen from 12-miles from the Atlantic Ocean. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now