The Navesink Highlands Light Station, also known as Twin Lights, stands at almost 200 feet above sea level on one of the highest points on the Atlantic coast, where lighthouses have guided mariners safely into New York Harbor since 1828. The present lighthouse was built in 1862, and Twin Lights became famous as the first lighthouse in the United States to be fitted, in 1841, with revolutionary Fresnel lenses that created an intense, bright light visible at great distances. In 1898, a large bivalve lens was installed in the south tower and for many years produced the most powerful light in the United States; its range was 22 miles, though sailors reported seeing its flash against the night sky from as far as 70 miles away. Advances in navigation technology made many lighthouses obsolete, and in 1949 the Twin Lights were turned off, remaining as a daytime beacon until removal from the official lists in 1951. The federal government first turned the property over to the Borough of Highlands, and in 1961 it was given to the State of New Jersey and designated a State Historic Site; Twin Lights is listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
