Cape May Point Lighthouse
Inforamtion taken from www.capemaymac.org

Located in Cape May Point State Park, Lower Township 1859.

More than 100 thousand visitors a year now experience a visit to the top of the lighthouse, participating in a century old rite of a visit to the Jersey Shore.

For those who choose not to climb, the Oil House contains a fully-accessible visitors' orientation center and a Museum Shop stocked with maritime accessories and memorabilia.

About the Lighthouse

The present tower, which is the third documented lighthouse at the southern tip of New Jersey, has always been an attention-getting landmark as well as an aid-to-navigation for mariners.

Because it is adjacent to the community of Cape May Point and just two miles from the city of Cape May, it has drawn visitors throughout its history. In 1882, the Cape May Ocean Wave reported that "the gentleman superintendent in charge [of the lighthouse], Mr. Samuel Stillwell, takes pleasure in showing visitors who have the nerve and strength of limb to the top, the interior of the lantern, and explaining the interesting operations of the light.

A very picturesque view of the sea, bay, and country may also be obtained from the giddy heights of the edifice."

In 1897, the newspaper made it clear that a visit to the lighthouse was a requisite part of one's vacation: "One of the interesting features to Cape May summer visitors is a journey to the top of the light house."

Restoration

The last keeper of the lighthouse retired in the 1930s. After that, the beacon was automated, and the United States Coast Guard maintained the workings of the light. In the 1980s, the Coast Guard began to lease historic lighthouses to local preservation groups who could preserve and restore these important structures.

In December, 1986, through special agreement with both the Coast Guard and the State of New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, the Cape May Lighthouse was leased to the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC). A non-profit organization headquartered here at the Emlen Physick Estate, MAC has assumed the responsibility of restoring the lighthouse, interpreting it as a historic site and opening it to the public.

The process of restoration has thus far lasted more than 10 years, and has been funded by nearly $2 million in grants, principally from the New Jersey Historic Trust and the Inter-Modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) program, administered by the State Department of Transportation.

MAC has supervised the restoration of the lighthouse windows and doors, the addition of safety improvements, the restoration of the oil house which is at the entrance to the lighthouse grounds, the restoration of the lantern roof and windows, the interior walls and staircase, and the archaeological investigation that located the original privies and walkways.

The lighthouse has also been re-painted in its original color scheme, in which the tower is a light beige and the lantern is red.

Future plans include restoring the grounds and rebuilding the privies.

More than 100 thousand visitors a year now experience a visit to the top of the lighthouse, participating in a century old rite of a visit to the Jersey Shore.

Questions most often asked about Cape May Lighthouse
Lighthouse Structure
Lighthouse Keepers
Lighthouse Restoration

Questions About the Structure

1.How tall is the lighthouse?
The lighthouse tower is 157 feet 6 inches tall, from the ground line to the ventilator ball on top.

2. How many steps are there to the top?
There are 218 steps from the ground to the top, with 199 steps in the tower's cast iron spiral staircase.

3. How old is the lighthouse?
The Cape May Lighthouse was built in 1859, and is the third known lighthouse to be built at Cape May Point. The first was built in 1823; the second in 1847. The exact locations of the first two lighthouses are now under water due to erosion.

4. How thick are the brick walls?
The lighthouse actually has two separate walls. The outside wall is cone-shaped, and is 3 feet 10 inches thick at the bottom, and 1 foot 6 inches thick at the top. The inside wall is a cylinder with 8.5-inch thick walls which support the spiral staircase. The walls were designed to withstand winds several times above hurricane force.

5. Is the beacon still working?
Yes. The Coast Guard continues to operate the light as an active aid to navigation. The light is visible 24 miles out at sea and flashes every 15 seconds. A lighthouse's flash pattern is called its "characteristic;" every lighthouse has its own light characteristic and exterior paint scheme (called a daymark) so that ship captains can tell them apart.

6. What were the small rooms on either side of the entrance hallway used for?
They were oil storage rooms, holding containers of the whale oil, lard, and kerosene that fueled the light in the years before it was electrified.

7. Who owns the lighthouse?
The State of New Jersey owns the Lighthouse, but the Coast Guard maintains the beacon apparatus and emergency generator. The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC) in Cape May leases the Lighthouse from the State with the mission of restoring the structure and operating it as a historic site.

Questions About Lighthouse Keepers and Their Responsibilities

1. Who worked at the lighthouse?
The Lighthouse was staffed by keepers who worked for the U.S. Lighthouse Service. Cape May's lighthouse generally had one head keeper and two assistants. They carried the oil to the top of the tower every day to power the light, and kept the lens apparatus clean and in working order. Keepers pay averaged $600 a year around the turn of the 20th century.

2. Where did the keepers live?
There were two houses built right next to the lighthouse around 1860 for the keepers and their families. One has since burned, but the other is still standing, on the other side of the chain link fence, near the entrance to the lighthouse tower.

Questions About the Lighthouse Restoration

1. Why is the lighthouse leased to the Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC)?
In recent years, the Coast Guard began a nationwide program of leasing lighthouses to private organizations, like MAC, which are capable of preserving them. In 1992, ownership of the lighthouse was transferred from the Coast Guard to the State of New Jersey, in order to make the restoration project eligible for state historic preservation funding. The state monitors the historical authenticity of the restoration, and also makes available to lighthouse visitors the parking and restroom facilities of the adjacent state park.

2. What is MAC?
MAC is a non-profit organization with more than 3,000 members that was founded in 1970 to save and restore Cape May's Physick Estate, and operate it as an historic house museum. MAC also promotes Cape May's Victorian heritage through a year round schedule of special events and trolley, walking, and historic house tours. MAC is also one of the area's leading sponsors of the performing arts, with its Cape May Music Festival every May and June. Please call (609)884-5404 for more details on MAC's calendar of events.

3. How much will it cost to restore the lighthouse?
Over the last eleven years, close to $2 million has been spent in order to allow the public to climb safely to the top and to restore the lighthouse and oil house.

4. What restoration projects will be done next?
Projects remaining to be done include the restoration of the grounds and the reconstruction of the pathways and privies.

5. Is the lighthouse open to the public?
Yes. Hours of operation vary throughout the year. The tower is open daily, April through November, and on weekends most of the rest of the year. The grounds, ground floor, tower and watch room gallery are open to the public. All tours of the tower are self guided.

Important Dates in the history of the Cape May Lighthouse.

1823 - First known lighthouse constructed, although it is possible there was a beacon built here in the late 18th century. The 1823 tower was 68 feet tall, and its location is now under water due to erosion.

1847 - The second lighthouse was built. It was a 78 foot tower located directly in front of the present tower just beyond the present shoreline. It was replaced by the present lighthouse because it was poorly constructed.

1857 - The Army Corps of Engineers began construction on the present tower, which cost $40,000 to build. The 1st order classical lens, which is now in the Cape May County Museum, probably cost about $15,000.

1859 - The lighthouse was first lighted on October 31. The next year, two lighthouse keepers' dwellings were built. The one remaining is now used by the State Park Service.

1893 - The oil house was constructed.

1902 - One of the keepers' dwellings was enlarged to provide more space for housing the keepers' families. Three keepers and their families lived at the lighthouse site.

1910 - An incandescent oil vapor lamp was installed and replaced the Funck multiple wick first order hydraulic float lamp that dated back to 1878.

1938 - The light apparatus was electrified, which eliminated the need for lighthouse keepers being permanently stationed at the tower.

1939 - The United States Lighthouse Service was discontinued and its equipment and personnel transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard.

1941 - The lighthouse was darkened until 1945 because of WWII. The Atlantic coast was on blackout due to the presence of enemy submarines.

1946 - The present rotating optical lens was installed and the first order classical lens was placed in the Cape May County Museum.

1986 - The lighthouse was subleased to MAC by the State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, who in turn leased the structure from the Coast Guard.

1988 - MAC undertook public safety improvements that allowed the public to climb to the top.

1989 - A grant from the Bicentennial Lighthouse Fund underwrote the restoration of the Lighthouse's windows and doors.

1990 - The oil house was restored and adapted for use as an orientation center and museum shop, with funding from the Bicentennial Lighthouse Fund and the New Jersey Historic Trust.

1992 - The ownership of the lighthouse was transferred from the Coast Guard to the State of New Jersey.

1994 - Grants from the NJ Historic Trust and the federal ISTEA program administered by the State DOT funded painting of the tower and restoration of the lantern and roof.

1998 - Grants from the same agencies funded all remaining restoration work on the lighthouse.

2000-2001 - A grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust funded the first phase of the grounds restoration project.