The Lighthouse at Stony Point

In the 19th century, growing commercial traffic created a need for improved navigational aids. After the Erie Canal opened in 1825, allowing ships to travel from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Hudson River as far north as Albany, the United States Lighthouse Service built the Stony Point lighthouse in 1826 to warn ships of the narrowing of Haverstraw Bay at the southern end of the Hudson Highlands. Its first light came from eight oil lamps and several metal reflectors. In 1856, a modified lamp with a fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed, and in 1857 a wooden tower was built to hold a bell rung by a clockwork device during foggy weather. In 1890, an improved fog bell was placed at the tip of the peninsula near the water. From 1853 to 1905, members of one family served as keepers of the Stony Point Light: Alexander Rose was appointed lightkeeper in May 1853, his wife Nancy succeeded him after his death four years later, and their daughter Melinda, who lived most of her life at Stony Point, served between May 1904 and December 1905. In 1935, Melinda wrote that the family had been at the lighthouse for fifty-three years and that during that time there were no deaths from accidents on the water, which she said reflected faithful and conscientious service in keeping the light burning and ringing the warning bell in times of danger. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1926 and replaced by a modern navigational aid at the tip of the peninsula. In 1995, the Stony Point lighthouse, the oldest on the Hudson River, was restored and relighted.

Stony Point, New York · United States