NPS/Gateway NRA

Sandy Hook Lighthouse during World War II.  The Light was turned off during the War to protect ships from U Boat attacks.  The tower was painted in camoflague.

The Sandy Hook Light is the oldest standing lighthouse and the oldest operating lighthouse in the United States. It is the only surviving tower of the 11 lighthouses built in the thirteen colonies during the colonial period from 1716 to 1771.

First lit on June 11, 1764, its thick walls protected it from cannonball fire during the Revolutionary War. The Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters, currently a museum, is the fifth Keeper's Quarters built on the site and was constructed in 1883. 

The Sandy Hook Light is a National Historic Landmark. It is also part of the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground Historic District National Historic Landmark.

View the Sandy Hook Light Nomination Form.

For a slideshow history of lighthouses click here.

View Sandy Hook Lighthouse brochure.

*New Sandy Hook Lighthouse. The Facts, Mystery and History Surrounding America's Oldest Operating Lighthouse.

NPS/Gateway NRA

Spermaceti Cove station, c. 1910

Spermaceti Cove Life-Saving Station, 1894, currently is the Sandy Hook Visitor Center. This building housed the men who risked their lives saving shipwrecked victims. In 1915 the United States Life-Saving Service became the U.S. Coast Guard. The station was used by the Coast Guard until the late 1940s.

Spermaceti Cove #2 Life-Saving Service Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also part of the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground Historic District National Historic Landmark.

View the Spermaceti Cove # 2 Life-Saving Service Station National Register Nomination Form.

View the Spermaceti Cove Life-Saving Station Historic Structures Report.

View Sandy Hook's Lifesavers brochure.