Sea Girt Lighthouse, Sea Girt, NJ, 4/12/26.
Took a bit of a detour yesterday on the drive back from Delaware to go to New Jersey to climb Sea Girt Lighthouse on their first open day of the year. So glad I did! This is a very charming little lighthouse that has been lovingly restored and maintained. The docents were super friendly, knowledgeable, and eager to share their love of this lighthouse. Had a great chat with one of the docents, Bill, who explained the lighthouse was built midway between Barnegat and Navesink light stations to fill in the navigational gap between them. He was keen to point out the details of the brickwork on the exterior and of the woodwork on the interior. I wish I had taken more photos of the inside, it was very beautiful—especially the living room in the front of the house that features a fireplace flanked by built-in bookshelves (evidently after the Coast Guard sold the building to the town in the 1950s, it served as the town’s library for about 20 years). The original fourth order Fresnel lens is on display on the second floor.
#seagirtlighthouse #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #newjersey #seagirt #seagirtNJ

Marcus Hook Rear Range Lighthouse, Wilmington, DE 4/11/2026. She ain’t pretty, but she was nearby. I took my youngest to visit University of Delaware, and this lighthouse was a short drive from where we were staying. The original light source was a fourth-order range lens that that shone at a height of 278 feet above the Delaware River. It was removed in the 80s. As you can see, the lantern room is now boarded up. The keeper’s house is now a private residence, and presumably the lighthouse tower is now privately owned as well.
#marcushookrearrangelighthouse #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #delaware #wilmington #wilmingtonDE

Conanicut Island Lighthouse, Jamestown, RI 4/4/2026. One of the few remaning Rhode Island lighthouses I had yet to visit. It was first activated on April 1, 1886 featuring a fifth-order lens in a decagonal lantern room that shone a fixed red light at a height of sixty feet above the water. It was deactivated in 1933 and its lantern and lens were removed. It is currently a private residence and not open to the public. #conanicutislandlighthouse #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #newengland #rhodeisland #jamestown #jamestownRI

Three Sisters Lighthouses, Eastham, MA, 7/9/2023. The current location of these lighthouses is in a wooded area behind Nauset Beach, away from the water but a short walk from where Nauset Light currently stands and is still illuminated. But they used to sit atop the bluffs of Nauset Beach. The ground on which sat no longer exists: that land had long ago eroded and fell into the sea.

These lighthouses have an interesting history, which I won’t go into in great detail here: I recommend reading the more detailed history at lighthousefriends.com. Here’s the condensed version:

The original three lights were first lit in 1839. No one seems to know why three lights were needed, which I find hilarious. They were replaced in 1892 with these three towers. Two of those towers were damaged in a storm in 1898. In 1918 those two towers were auctioned off for $3.50: the buyer relocated them nearby and made them part of a summer cottage. The remaining tower was replaced in 1923 by one of the twin cast iron lighthouses in Chatham (now the current Nauset Light) and was likewise auctioned off and turned into a summer cottage. The National Park Service later acquired all three lighthouses and in 1983 placed them in their current location at the Cape Cod National Seashore.

While I’m grateful these lighthouses have been preserved and are very accessible to the public, to me it is sad to think of a lighthouse cut off from the water. So when I visit these lighthouses, it is a melancholy experience.
#threesisterslighthouses #capecodnationalseashore #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #newengland #massachusetts #capecod #eastham #nausetbeach

Clark’s Point Lighthouse, New Bedford, MA, March 8, 2020. A quite unique lighthouse perched atop a Civil War-era fort.
#clarkspointlighthouse #fortrodman #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #newengland #massachusetts #southcoastMA #newbedford

Butler Flats Lighthouse, New Bedford, MA, 1/21/2024. She’s seen some things...
#butlerflatslighthouse #butlerflats #acushnetriver #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #newengland #massachusetts #southcoastMA #newbedford

Bird Island Lighthouse, 7/20/2024.
#birdisland #birdislandlighthouse #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #newengland #massachusetts #southcoastMA #buzzardsbay #marionMA

Hyannis Harbor Lighthouse, January 2023.
#hyannisharborlighthouse #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #newengland #massachusetts #capecod #hyannis

Duxbury Pier Lighthouse (aka Bug Light), from across Plymouth Harbor, 3/10/23.
#duxburypierlighthouse #duxburybuglight #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #newengland #massachusetts #southshore #plymouth #plymouthMA #plymouthharbor

Eastern Point Lighthouse, Gloucester, MA, 2/19/2023: As the name suggests, it’s located at the eastern end of Gloucester Harbor. Walking out on the 2,250-foot jetty you get a great view of the lighthouse and can see the Boston skyline at a distance.
#easternpointlighthouse #lighthouse #phare #faro #leuchtturm #灯台 #todai #newengland #massachusetts #northshore #capeann #gloucester