Sandy Hook Lighthouse
The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. It was designed and built in 1764 by Isaac Conro. At that time, it stood only 500 feet (150 m) from the tip of Sandy Hook; however, today, due to growth caused by littoral drift, it is almost one and a half miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip.
The light was built to aid mariners entering the southern end of the New York Harbor. It was originally called New York Lighthouse because it was funded through a New York Assembly lottery and a tax on all ships entering the Port of New York. Sandy Hook Light has endured an attempt to destroy it – as an aid to British navigation – by Benjamin Tupper, and a subsequent occupancy of British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
Sandy Hook Lighthouse, which was restored in spring 2000, is part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service. Seven days a week, National Park Service Park Rangers offer free tours every half hour from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook, located in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. This coastal artillery base played an important part in the defense of New York Harbor and played a role in the history of New Jersey. Between 1874 and 1919, Fort Hancock was operated in conjunction with the Army's Sandy Hook Proving Ground.
In 1893, Fort Hancock installed Battery Potter, the nation's first disappearing gun battery. It also was important for the defense of the vital New York Harbor throughout World War II, preventing the entrance of German submarines into the harbor. In the late 1950s Project Nike antiaircraft missiles were based there. Fort Hancock was decommissioned in 1974.
The fort and its small museum are managed as part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, and is part of National Parks of New York Harbor unit of the National Park System.
Sandy Hook Lighthouse
The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. It was designed and built in 1764 by Isaac Conro. At that time, it stood only 500 feet (150 m) from the tip of Sandy Hook; however, today, due to growth caused by littoral drift, it is almost one and a half miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip.
The light was built to aid mariners entering the southern end of the New York Harbor. It was originally called New York Lighthouse because it was funded through a New York Assembly lottery and a tax on all ships entering the Port of New York. Sandy Hook Light has endured an attempt to destroy it – as an aid to British navigation – by Benjamin Tupper, and a subsequent occupancy of British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
Sandy Hook Lighthouse, which was restored in spring 2000, is part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service. Seven days a week, National Park Service Park Rangers offer free tours every half hour from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook, located in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. This coastal artillery base played an important part in the defense of New York Harbor and played a role in the history of New Jersey. Between 1874 and 1919, Fort Hancock was operated in conjunction with the Army's Sandy Hook Proving Ground.
In 1893, Fort Hancock installed Battery Potter, the nation's first disappearing gun battery. It also was important for the defense of the vital New York Harbor throughout World War II, preventing the entrance of German submarines into the harbor. In the late 1950s Project Nike antiaircraft missiles were based there. Fort Hancock was decommissioned in 1974.
The fort and its small museum are managed as part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, and is part of National Parks of New York Harbor unit of the National Park System.