A beam of light to guide you...

The original Fire Island lighthouse was completed in 1826. The octagonal structure was built using Connecticut River bluestone and had cost the Federal government $10,000. Although the light stood 89 feet above sea level and its beacon could be seen 14.5 miles out to sea, shipwrecks continued to occur.



A newly created U.S. Life-House Board had a plan that would upgrade the system of lighthouses and lifesaving stations on Long Island. The replacement was twice as tall and the light was visible from more than twenty miles out to sea.



The first lighthouse was taken down after the present (1858) structure was in service. The stones of the first lighthouse were used on the upper terrace of the new lighthouse.



During the 1890s, the base (first image) was lined with bricks and a roof was added so it could store water for an adjacent powerhouse. The remaining stones mark the former western tip of Fire Island in the 1820s.