Tarrytown Lighthouse when far from shoreline Photograph courtesy Library of Congress

For thirty more years, river captains continued to petition for a lighthouse to mark this stretch of the Hudson River. Finally, the government relented, and in 1881, $21,000 was appropriated to construct the lighthouse. The site, however, was not on Kingsland Point, but rather on a much cheaper parcel of land in the river itself, ¼ mile off the point. The spark plug tower was manufactured by G.W. & F. Smith Iron of Boston, Massachusetts, and was known as the Kingsland Point Lighthouse and the Tarrytown Lighthouse.

Captain Joseph Ackerman lit the light for the first time on October 1, 1883, a ceremony he would repeat many times during his twenty-one years of service at the rock-rimmed cast-iron tower. The 54-foot-tall conical tower consists of five levels. The first level, having a diameter of eighteen feet, served as a combination kitchen/dining room/living room. Bedrooms were located on the next two levels. The fourth level was split into two rooms, a bedroom and a small storeroom. The fifth level stored fog bell equipment, and the lantern room topped it all off.

The only Caisson style lighthouse on the Hudson River, the Tarrytown Lighthouse housed a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which originally exhibited a fixed white light characteristic from a 56-foot focal plane. The characteristic was switched to fixed-red in 1894 and then in 1902, it was changed to flashing red.

Tarrytown Lighthouse with launch Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

Tarrytown Lighthouse was considered a plum assignment due to its proximity to town. During its 78 years of manned service, the keeper position only rotated eleven times. Wives and families were encouraged to live at the lighthouse, though after the drowning of two children, a minimum age requirement on children was imposed. Household supplies were obtained by rowing to town, or once the river froze over, by simply walking on the ice.

General Motors expanded its automobile plant along the river in 1923, altering the course of the Pocantico River. Slowly, the east shore of the Hudson River expanded until only 50 feet separated the lighthouse from the shoreline.

When the Tappan Zee Bridge was completed in 1955, the Tarrytown Light was no longer needed. Its candlepower was reduced from 7000 to 1500 in 1957, and the inevitable deactivation occurred in 1961. The lighthouse was listed for disposal and fell into disrepair.

In 1969, Westchester County began plans to accept the lighthouse from the General Services Administration (GSA), and ownership was transferred in 1974. Westchester County has worked diligently to restore and maintain the structure. During the 1970s, a metal footbridge was constructed to connect the lighthouse to the shoreline.

On October 1, 1983, the 100th anniversary of the beacon’s first lighting, the Tarrytown Lighthouse was opened to the public. Today, Westchester County occasionally conducts tours of the lighthouse, treating visitors to furnishings and photographs depicting life at the lighthouse.

As part of a $800,000 project, funded by Westchester County and the Village of Sleepy Hollow, the lighthouse will be stabilized, have its wooden floors replaced, and receive a new coat of paint. The work should be finished in 2013.

References

1. Lighthouses of New York, Greater New York Harbor, Hudson River and Long Island, Jim Crowley, 2000.
2. Lighthouses and Legends of the Hudson, Ruth R. Glunt, 1975.
3. “Tarrytown Light,” Timothy Hudson, Lighthouse Digest, December 1995.
4. “Hudson River Lights Get a New Lease,” The Keeper’s Log, Winter 1987.
5. Westchester County Park, Tarrytown Lighthouse Brochure.