In 1826, the first lighthouse on the Hudson River was constructed at historic Stony Point to mark the entrance to the Hudson Highlands. The completion of the Erie Canal the previous year, which linked New York City to America's heartland, increased traffic on the Hudson River dramatically, and the need for navigational aids was paramount.

The 30-foot-tall octagonal Stony Point Lighthouse, built of blue split stone, was constructed by Thomas Phillips of New York City, at a cost of $3,350. The tower has three stories and a basement, originally used to store whale oil.

Keeper Cornelius W. Lansing lit the light for the first time on December 1, 1826. In 1838, it was recorded that the light consisted of seven lamps with spherical reflectors arranged on two horizontal tables. The fixed-white light was projected over an arc of 270 degrees and was visible primarily from the south and east. In 1856, the lamps were replaced by a fifth-order Fresnel lens, which also beamed a fixed-white light. A more powerful fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed in 1902.

A wooden fog bell tower was added to the station in 1857. The fog bell was moved from the tower in 1876, and attached to the lighthouse. In 1890, another fog bell tower was built, this time near the water’s edge. A white light topped the new bell tower, but was later changed in 1902 to a red light to avoid confusion with the lighthouse beacon.

There have been three keeper’s dwellings at Stony Point. The original dwelling, built in 1826, was torn down and replaced by a wooden dwelling on the flat land below the lighthouse in 1880. The second house was razed and replaced by a stone structure, built farther back from the river in 1938.

The Parkinson family is closely intertwined with the history of Stony Point, beginning with Jacob Parkinson who fought and was wounded in the Battle of Stony Point. Fifty years later, in 1829, his grandson, Robert Parkinson, was appointed the second keeper of the Stony Point Lighthouse. Keeping it all in the family, he was succeeded in 1853 by Alexander Rose, the husband of Robert Parkinson’s niece and Jacob Parkinson’s great-granddaughter, Nancy Rose.

Just four years after Alexander Rose took over as keeper of Stony Point, he was carrying timber for the construction of the new bell tower when a blood vessel ruptured. He died a few weeks later leaving his wife Nancy a widow with six children.

Nancy rose to the challenge of caring for the Stony Point Lighthouse as she raised her children. Sadly, only two of her six children survived to adulthood. Once during a dense fog, Nancy Rose remained at her post in the lighthouse for fifty-six hours faithfully ringing the fog bell every thirty seconds. Having the longest tenure of any keeper at Stony Point, she served 47 years until her passing in 1904. Shortly before her death, she was asked in an interview for a local newspaper if she had any interesting experiences from her years serving as keeper. She replied, “Nothing ever happens up here. One year is exactly like another, and except for the weather, nothing changes.” Her daughter, Melinda, shared her sentiments, stating, “I can’t remember anything that has ever happened, except once our cow died, and several times it’s been bad years for the chickens. But even the one wreck wasn’t really what you might call a wreck, for nobody was hurt, and it wasn’t mother’s fault anyhow, for both the lights were beaming as brightly as ever.”

Melinda must not have thought the lighthouse business too boring. In 1904, after her mother’s death, she applied for the keeper position. She was told, at age 53, that she was too old, but Melinda would not be deterred. She sought help from her Congressman, but to no avail. Melinda is recorded as the official keeper in 1904, but was replaced in 1905.

The one wreck recorded at Stony Point was the grounding of a passenger ship, the “Poughkeepsie.” Forty to fifty people were left stranded in the middle of the night. Seeking shelter from the driving rain, they knocked on the door of the keeper’s dwelling. Nancy Rose graciously took them in until the next train to New York.

Keeper Millard Caylor turned off the light in 1925, when a steel tower built near the shoreline replaced the lighthouse. The steel tower was manually operated until 1973, and was the last manned light on the river.

Through the efforts of the Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site, the Palisades Park Interstate Commission, and NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, restoration of the lighthouse began in 1986. The exterior was repaired and painted and the lantern was reglazed. On October 7, 1995, restoration was complete, and the light was activated for the first time in 70 years. The automatic light, operated by solar power, beams a flash of light once every four seconds.

The lighthouse is open to the public with exhibits, restored interior, and a period fourth-order Fresnel lens.

References

1. "Stony Point Battlefield, State Historic Park," Pamphlet, April 2002.
2. Women Who Kept the Lights, Mary Louise Clifford and J. Candace Clifford, 1993.
3. Lighthouses of New York, Greater New York Harbor, Hudson River and Long Island, Jim Crowley, 2000.
4. Lighthouses and Legends of the Hudson, Ruth R. Glunt, 1975.

To reach the park, take the Palisades Interstate Parkway to exit 15. Go east on Route 106/210 for 2.4 miles to Route 9W. Turn left on Route 9W and proceed north through the village of Stony Point for 0.8 miles and then turn right on Park Road. Stay to your left at the bottom of the hill, and the site entrance is straight ahead. Call (845) 786-2521 before your visit to confirm the hours and to see if the lighthouse can be opened for tours.