Robbins Reef Light stands in Upper New York Bay near the entrance to the Kill van Kull, marking one of the busiest shipping approaches in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The present sparkplug lighthouse was built in 1883 to replace an 1839 granite tower on a site whose Dutch-era name evolved from Robyn’s Rift to Robbins Reef. It became especially famous through Kate Walker, who ran the station alone from 1886 until 1919 after her husband died. Later automated, it remained in federal service into the 2000s, and since 2011 it has been under restoration for renewed public use.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain