Gardiners Island lighthouse
Gardiner's Island lighthouse was a navigational aid built off the tip of Long Island, NY, in the mid-19th century.[1][2]
Locals testified before the National Lighthouse Board that a lighthouse was necessary because at least 13 ships had wrecked themselves on the sandbar.[3]
It was built, of stone, on a long sandbar that extended from the northern tip of Gardiner's Island in 1855.[1] In 1892 a large storm washed away part of the sandbar, turning its northern tip into an island, Gardiner's Point Island.
The lighthouse keeper in 1892 decided the lighhouse was unsafe, and resigned. His replacement, a Jonathon Miller, would also decide the structure was unsafe, and moved most of his family to the mainland.[1] His eldest son remained to assist him. His fears were well placed, as during a storm in February 1894 Miller felt the structure suddenly collapse. Miller's son was crushed, while Miller survived.
The lighthouse was not replaced.[1]
According to The New York Times Congress was considering either replacing the lighthouse, for $20,000, or protecting it with a $5,000 seawall, at the time of the disaster.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Timothy Harrison (November 2010). "Lost Photos of a Lost Light with a Tragic End: Where Are They?". Lighthouse Digest. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222135628/http://www.lighthousedigest.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=3419. Retrieved 2021-08-17. "The lighthouse had been built of stone on a point of land that extended far into Gardiner’s Bay. In 1892 the point of land was cut in two by heavy seas from a storm."
- ↑ "LONG ISLAND LIGHTS". Cross Sound Ferry. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20201126101239/https://www.longislandferry.com/Common/Help.aspx?page=/lighthouse/lilights. Retrieved 2021-08-17. "A small island in Block Island Sound called Gardiners Point Island, popularly known as “The Ruins,” was once the location of the Gardiners Island Lighthouse and Fort Tyler."
- ↑ Dan Rattiner (2020-01-11). "Four Hamptons Lighthouses: Montauk, Shinnecock, Cedar Point & Gardiners". This is the Hamptons. Archived from the original on 2020-01-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20200111114425/https://www.danspapers.com/2020/01/hamptons-lighthouses-montauk-shinnecock-cedar-point-gardiners/. Retrieved 2021-08-17. "The lighthouse went into service in 1855 after testimony given by local people to the National Lighthouse Board—there was a Lighthouse Board—on the need for such a lighthouse."
- ↑ "GARDINER ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE; Cannot Stand Long Unless Needed Re- pairs Are Made.". The New York Times (Washington, DC): p. 9. 1894-03-03. https://www.nytimes.com/1894/03/04/archives/gardiner-island-lighthouse-cannot-stand-long-unless-needed-re-pairs.html. Retrieved 2021-08-17. "The official report of Commodore Schley as to the dangerous condition of the Gardiner Island Lighthouse recalls the efforts of the Lighthouse Bureau to secure an appropriation to build a wall around the lighthouse."
