History
​​The Fire Island Lighthouse was an important landmark for transatlantic ships coming into New York Harbor at the turn of the last century. For many European immigrants, the Fire Island Light was their first sight of land upon arrival in America, even before the Statue of Liberty.
After the American Revolutionary War, New York became one of the busiest ports in America. Many ships destined for New York sailed to port parallel to the southern coast of Long Island. With offshore sandbars reaching up to a quarter mile from the shoreline, this area could be treacherous for ships. Most shipwrecks off the southern coast of Long Island hit the sandbar and snapped their masts. The waves crashing against the hulls would then destroy their hull. Approximately 200 known and an estimated 640 unidentified ships wrecked off the coast of Fire Island since the mid-1600s.
The first lighthouse was lit on Nov 15th, 1826 and was built on the edge of the Fire Island Inlet which marked the western end of Fire Island. It was a 74-foot high, cream-colored, octagonal pyramid made of Connecticut River blue split stone. Its light could be seen for about 10-14 nautical miles out to sea.
In 1857 Congress appropriated $40,000 for the construction of a new tower at 168 feet tall above sea level. It was lit for the first time on November 1, 1858. This tower was made of red brick, painted a creamy yellow color. This new tower was fitted with a state-of-the-art revolving first-order Fresnel lens produced in France by the Henry-Lepaute company, emitting a white flash at one-minute intervals. This light could be seen from ships at least 21-24 nautical miles out to sea.
The first-order Fresnel lens was replaced in 1933 by the lens from the decommissioned Shinnecock Lighthouse. The new lens was much lighter, allowing it to be rotated at a higher speed to produce a flash once every 7.5 seconds instead of once every sixty seconds.
The United States Lighthouse Service was dissolved and the administration of lighthouses was placed under the jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard in 1939 "in the interest of economy and efficiency" (Presidential Reorganization Act). The United States Coast Guard had been present on Fire Island since its inception in 1915. A Coast Guard Station was established on the Lighthouse tract.
After decommissioning the lighthouse 1974, the Coast Guard gave the National Park Service a five-year permit to use the entire Lighthouse Tract (approximately 82 acres). In 1979, the track was declared by law to be within the boundaries of the Fire Island National Seashore. With limited funds, the major function of the Park Service during this time was to prevent further deterioration of the buildings through neglect and vandalism.
The Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society (FILPS) was formed in 1982 in response to the possible demolition of the Fire Island Lighthouse. The Society raised over $1 million to save and restore the Lighthouse. The founding President was Thomas F. Roberts, III. Tom wrote letters to public officials attempting to enlist their support in preserving an important part of our maritime heritage. When Tom received a call from the White House in 1980, he knew he was on his way to realizing his dream of relighting the light.
On Memorial Day, May 25, 1986, the Fire Island Lighthouse was relit and reinstated as an official aid to navigation with a grand relighting ceremony. The Lighthouse was restored to its 1939 condition, which is when electricity was first installed.
On January 6, 2006 the light was privatized when the US Coast Guard signed over operations to the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society. Volunteers now maintain and repair the light to ensure it continues to be an active aid to navigation. The beacon will continue to remain on all charts as a private aid to navigation.
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On November 17th, 2022, National Park Service staff delivered the wreckage, possibly a remnant of the last voyage of the ship Savannah, to the Lighthouse for display. Building materials and labor were donated to build and hold the piece for all to see.
1826
1891
1857
1933
1938
1939
1973
1974
1974-1980
1982
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1848
1986
1996
2006
2011
The first Life-Saving Station on Fire Island was built in 1848, at the westernmost end of the island, adjacent to the site of the first Fire Island Lighthouse
The tower was changed to the present day-mark of alternating black and white bands in August 1891. This unique pattern distinguished the Fire Island Lighthouse from others up and down the east coast.
Electricity reached the lighthouse on September 20, 1938. On September 21, 1938 a hurricane struck the island, effectively severing all electric power to the island and causing a delay in the electrification of the Fire Island Light Station.
The Fire Island Lighthouse was decommissioned as an aid to navigation on December 31, 1973. The new aid to navigation was a "small flash tube optic" installed atop the Robert Moses State Park Water Tower.
Between 1974 and 1980, private citizens grouped together in an effort to "save the Fire Island Lighthouse." The strobe light on the Robert Moses Tower only shone seaward and was of no use to boaters on the Great South Bay. Public support for the restoration of the Lighthouse was widespread among the baymen.
A major restoration in 1985 removed and replaced the exterior concrete coating over the structural brick. Restoration commenced, bringing the Fire Island Lighthouse back to its glory, and relighting the beacon. FIIS maintenance staff took it upon themselves to restore the lantern room by resealing the glass and the repairing the copper roof.
In December 1996, the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society (FILPS), through an agreement with the National Park Service, took over maintenance and operation of the Fire Island Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters, increasing visitor services and programs for schools and other interested groups.
On March 8, 2011, after an absence of 78 years, the Fire Island Light Station's first lighting apparatus - now more than 150 years old - made its way back to Fire Island...still in crates. Its future home, an intriguing new building designed specifically to display the impressive 16-foot-tall artifact, was completed and opened to the public in 2011. After being taken out of service, the first-order Fresnal lens was displayed at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia from 1939 to 2000, and now had made it back to its home.
2022
Today, the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society continues its important work. The Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers maintain the Lighthouse, archive its history, improve displays, expand programs, and make your visit as enjoyable as possible. You can be part of the success of the Society by becoming a member, volunteering, or ​donating to help protect one of Long Island's and our country's maritime treasures.
Today
U.s. Life
Saving Service
The United States Life Saving Service (USLSS) was a very active government agency here on Fire Island in the late 1800s and early part of the 1900s. Although the United States Lighthouse Service and the United States Life Saving Service had similar missions - to protect ships along the coast - they were completely separate organizations.
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The first Life-Saving Station on Fire Island was built in 1848, at the westernmost end of the island, adjacent to the site of the first Fire Island Lighthouse. The second USLSS Station was built out at Moriches Inlet, 28 miles to the east. These early stations were manned entirely by volunteers. Local baymen and farmers volunteered to live at these stations from October until May to patrol the coastline for stranded ships and perform rescues when needed. By 1854, there were seven stations located along the south shore of Fire Island at the following locations: Fire Island, Point O' Woods, Lone Hill, Blue Point, Bellport, Smith's Point and Forge River.
These brave volunteers, known as Surfmen, had an unofficial motto, "You must go out, but you don't have to come back." They patrolled the beach on foot every night, from sunset until sunrise, looking for shipwrecks. When a stranded ship was sighted, the USLSS crew would perform a rescue using Beach Apparatus, which consisted of a Breeches Buoy in conjunction with a system of lines and pulleys. A Lyle Gun or small cannon was used to shoot a projectile, carrying a light line out to the ship. Although very simple, this method was used to rescue over 7000 people from 721 ships right here on Fire Island between 1871 and 1915.
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In 1871, Congress appropriated money for paid Keepers and crews at all stations. This resulted in more consistent training for Surfmen. In 1874 the Life Saving Stations Act was made law, requiring all US Boat captains to report all wrecks. In 1875, the Life Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service merged into the Revenue Marine Bureau. The degree of professionalism and proficiency in US Life Saving efforts rose greatly at this point. Logs were kept, inspections were made, reports were submitted, Surfmen were tested and a ranking system was introduced. In 1878 the USLSS separated from the Revenue Cutter Service and continued to improve right up until its merger with the newly created US Coast Guard in 1915.
The Wreck of the Elizabeth and the U.S. Lifesaving Service
The ship Elizabeth wrecked on the shores of Fire Island on its journey from Livorno, Italy, to New York on July 19, 1850. The vessel was caught in a powerful tropical storm that ultimately ravaged the east coast from Baltimore to Maine.
Among its passengers, the Elizabeth carried a notable writer, intellectual, and social activist Margaret Fuller and her family. In addition to her writings, Fuller was known for editing The Dial, America’s first literary journal, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She then became Horace Greeley’s literary editor for the New York Daily Tribune in New York City.
While visiting Italy, Fuller wrote eyewitness reports of the bloody battles of the Italian Revolution of 1848. Her articles, published in the New York Tribune, made her America’s first female war correspondent.
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It was on her journey home that she, her husband, and their two-year-old son perished.
Because of Fuller’s fame, the wreck of the Elizabeth received a great deal of national press coverage. The news stories that covered this tragic loss brought attention to the woeful state of the U.S. Lifesaving Service, then in its infancy and run by volunteers with little equipment and no formal training.
Public pressure caused Congress to provide enough funding for paid, full-time professional crews with proper lifesaving equipment to protect our shoreline and the lives of those aboard stranded ships.
It could be said the wreck of the Elizabeth and the death of its most famous passenger influenced vast improvements in the safety of America’s
shorelines.
-Angela Reich, Author, Shipwreck of Hopes
Gifts from the sea
The sea brings us many gifts. One that recently arrived at Fire Island Lighthouse is a 13’ x 13’ piece of wreckage, possibly a remnant of the last voyage of the ship Savannah.
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This was no ordinary ship that came to grief on our shores. The Savannah was the first steam-powered ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
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On May 22, 1819, she left Savannah Harbor and sailed across the Atlantic Twenty-nine days later she arrived at Liverpool to the cheers of thousands who came to see the smoke and sparks bursting from her single stack. Under steam for about 80 hours of her voyage, her notoriety caused quite a sensation in Europe, where she visited many ports, including Stockholm, St. Petersburg, and Copenhagen.
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Returning to Savannah in November 1819, she failed to attract passengers and cargo because steam technology was still considered dangerous and unreliable. She was sold and converted to full sail, then carrying cargo between Savannah and New York.
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On November 5, 1821, during a terrible storm, she missed New York Harbor and wrecked off the shore of Fire Island where she remained buried for more than 200 years.​
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Tropical Storm Ian uncovered the piece of her wreckage that began its journey westward with the tides, where it was pulled from the beach east of Robert Moses Field 5.
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On November 17th, 2022, National Park Service staff delivered the wreckage to the Lighthouse. Currently, NPS staff is conducting research to positively identify the wreckage, including evident construction particulars and other anecdotal evidence of size, circumstance, and location of the wreck.
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The historic impact of the transatlantic voyage of Savannah will never be overlooked. Memorialized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, he designated the day that the Savannah began its historic transatlantic voyage, May 22nd, as National Maritime Day.
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The sea has presented us with an extraordinary gift, delivered right to our doorstep: a remarkable piece of Maritime Heritage, now on view at the Fire Island Lighthouse for all visitors to appreciate.
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-Angela Reich, Author, Shipwreck of Hopes