The first lighthouse to mark the confluence of Rondout Creek and the Hudson River was built in 1837 on the south side of the creek, warning mariners of the shallow tidal flats surrounding the creek’s mouth. The wooden structure was built on a rectangular pier and consisted of a frame dwelling topped by a tower. Ice floes and tidal currents wreaked havoc on the wooden structure, and it was replaced in 1867 by a bluestone lighthouse, known as Rondout I, built on a cut stone base. Roundout I was a substantial lighthouse with a parlor, dining room, and kitchen on the first floor and three bedrooms and a watchroom on the second floor. Steps in the watchroom led to the lantern room.

Rondout Creek Lighthouse in Kingston Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

In 1913, Rondout Creek was dredged and diked, effectively extending the creek’s entrance farther east into the Hudson River. The 1867 Rondout Creek Lighthouse was subsequently abandoned, and a new two-story yellow brick lighthouse, Rondout II, was built at the end of the dike on the north side of the creek by L.H. Bannon Plumbing & Heating Construction Co. Although $40,000 had been appropriated for the project, the lighthouse, which is the newest on the Hudson, was amazingly completed at a cost of only $26,634. The lighthouse’s beacon beamed from a sixth-order Fresnel lens, with a focal plane of 52 feet, for the first time on August 25, 1915.

The iron lantern and deck were removed from the old lighthouse in 1916 and shipped to Rhode Island, where they were installed on the Bristol Ferry Lighthouse. The 1867 lighthouse was put on the auction block, but never sold. After its roof collapsed, the structure was demolished in 1953. Only the circular stone base remains.

The George Murdock family served as keepers at all three lighthouses.

George Murdock came to the first lighthouse in 1856 with his pregnant wife, Catherine, and two small children, George and Emma. Less than a year later, he drowned as he was returning home from picking up supplies from town. With two small children and baby James to care for, Catherine continued servicing the light. Applications were considered for Mr. Murdock’s replacement, but local citizens highly recommended Catherine for the position, and she was officially appointed headkeeper in 1857. She remained as headkeeper for 50 years, until her retirement in 1907, serving at both the first and second lighthouse.

One morning, as she was working in her “waterborne castle” (as the locals called the second lighthouse), she was greeted by a schooner’s bow crashing through a first floor window and gliding halfway through the room. The schooner had been crowded out by a tug, and had no where else to go. Repairs were quickly made.

Catherine recalled that her most nerve-racking night occurred in December 1878, when an unusually heavy snowstorm turned to rain. The Eddyville dam upstream burst and the ensuing flood carried houses, barns, barges and boats. Catherine could hear the turbulent crashing river screaming through the darkness toward the lighthouse. She continued to keep the light beaming and held firm in her castle. The next morning, surveying the damage, she found the lighthouse had survived with little damage.

Her son James became assistant keeper in 1880, and then headkeeper upon her retirement in 1907. James moved to Rondout II when it was completed in 1915, and retired in 1923.

The last keeper, Herman Lange, was quite popular among the locals. He locked up the lighthouse when the light was automated in 1954. The light was monitored by land from 1954 until the 1990s by Warren Spinnenweber of Port Ewen.

In 1984, the Hudson River Maritime Museum entered into a 30 year lease with the U.S. Coast Guard, taking over control of the structure. Through the collaboration of the museum and the city of Kingston, both the interior and exterior were restored from 1984-1988. The interior décor is representative of the 1930s.

On June 19, 2002, the City of Kingston took received ownership of the Kingston-Rondout Lighthouse in a ceremony that included local and national political leaders and representatives from the National Park Service, America Heritage Rivers, and Hudson River Greenway. The lighthouse was made available to qualified government entities and non-profit organizations under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. Daily operation of the lighthouse will be managed by the Hudson River Maritime Museum, and boat transportation to and tours of the lighthouse will be offered on weekends during the summer months.

Photo Gallery: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

References:

1. Women Who Kept the Lights, Mary Louise Clifford and J. Candace Clifford, 1993.
2. Lighthouses of New York, Greater New York Harbor, Hudson River and Long Island, Jim Crowley, 2000.
3. Lighthouses and Legends of the Hudson, Ruth R. Glunt, 1975.
4. “Hudson River Lights Get a New Lease,” Elise Barry and Wayne Wheeler, The Keeper’s Log, Summer 1987.
5. “Hudson River Lighthouses,” Richard Tuers, New York State Conservationist, October 2001.