Sea Girt Lighthouse 2023 | Sea Girt, New Jersey

Sea Girt Lighthouse

Sea Girt Lighthouse was built in 1896. It stands on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Beacon Boulevard in lovely Sea Girt, New Jersey. It overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the Lighthouse website:

Sea Girt Lighthouse, at Ocean Avenue and Beacon Boulevard in Sea Girt, New Jersey, flashed its first light December 10, 1896. The beacon, which could be seen 15 miles at sea, guided countless mariners in their journeys and contributed to the state’s economic growth and helped make sailing through local waters safer.

The lighthouse was built to illuminate a blind spot midway in the 38½-mile stretch between Navesink Lighthouse (Twin Lights) to the north and Barnegat Lighthouse to the south. It also served as a landmark for nearby Sea Girt Inlet and Wreck Pond.

The website goes on to say:

The history of Sea Girt Lighthouse is a rich one, filled with numerous distinctions and achievements.

The red brick structure with a tower rising 44 feet was the last live-in lighthouse built on the Atlantic Coast. A live-in lighthouse has the tower integrated into the living quarters. In the more typical design, to be found at Barnegat and Sandy Hook Lighthouses, the tower is separate from the keeper’s house.

Sea Girt was equipped with a fourth order Fresnel (pronounced fray-nell) lens, which was 30 inches high. The multi-sided beehive-shape lens had a bulls-eye prism like a big magnifying glass in the middle of each side.

Touring The Lighthouse

When you come through the front door, you are greeted by several incredibly friendly tour guides, eager to show off the Lighthouse.

You enter the little parlor:

It’s not that difficult to climb up to the top. After you go up some stairs and up a small ladder, you can see the lovely views.

On the day we were there it was a very hot Sunday and the beach was getting PACKED.

There is a wonderful video made by NJ Spotlight News a few years ago. The Lighthouse looks pretty much the same as it did then.

This video will explain how the Lighthouse came to be restored and open to the public.

The Morro Castle

There is a tribute to the SS Morro Castle in the Lighthouse.

The cruise ship was on its way back to New York from Cuba.

The ship’s captain had mysteriously died hours before a fire broke out on the ship.

According to the Sea Girt Lighthouse website:

It was September 8, 1934, when fire engulfed the luxury liner Morro Castle in a raging storm three miles offshore in what proved to be the ship’s 174^th and final voyage. The ship, which sailed from Havana, was bound for New York but never made port.

The crew fixed their position from the beacon of Sea Girt Lighthouse. The fire was out of control within 45 minutes of its discovery. The order was given to abandon ship. As passengers and crew entered the stormy waters, the beacon directed them to shore and offered hope. The lighthouse, under the command of keeper George Thomas, also served as a first-aid station.

The cause of the fire was never determined, although arson was suspected. While 137 died in the tragedy, more than 400 survived due to the heroic rescue efforts of fishermen, lifeguards, and many other local people who risked their own lives to save others

There are some very good videos about this disaster, including the mysterious death of the ship captain the night before the fire, and the man who was suspected of arson but never charged.

Here is one of the excellent videos about the tragedy, which includes stories from people who were actually there at the time:

Further Reading

Sea Girt Lighthouse – Guarding The Coast Since 1896

Sea Girt Lighthouse at Lighthouse Friends

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