How to Visit The Oldest Lighthouse on the Hudson River

Not only is this lighthouse the oldest on the Hudson River, but the grounds on which it was built held the famous American Revolution battle which ended British control of the river.

How to Visit The Oldest Lighthouse on the Hudson River

The Stony Point Lighthouse, built in 1826, is the oldest lighthouse on the Hudson River. De-commissioned in 1925, it now stands as a historical reminder of the importance of lighthouses to commerce on the Hudson River. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 unleashed a surge of commercial navigation along the Hudson River, by linking New York city to America's heartland.

Within a year, the first of the Hudson's fourteen lights shone at Stony Point and others soon followed, designed to safely guide maritime Travel along the river. Many light keepers, including several remarkable women such as Nancy and Melinda Rose at Stony Point, made their homes in the lighthouse complexes, and ensured that these important navigational signals never failed to shine.

The site features a museum, which offers exhibits on the battle and the Stony Point Lighthouse, as well as interpretive programs, such as reenactments highlighting 18th century Military life, cannon and musket firings, cooking demonstrations, and children's activities and blacksmith demonstrations.

The Battle of Stony Point

The Battle of Stony Point, one of the last Revolutionary War battles in the northeastern colonies, was where Brigadier General Anthony Wayne led his corps of Continental Light Infantry in a daring midnight attack on the British, seizing the site's fortifications and taking the soldiers and camp followers at the British garrison as prisoners on July 16, 1779.

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By May 1779 the war had been raging for four years and both sides were eager for a conclusion. Sir Henry Clinton, CoMMAnder-In-Chief of the British forces in America, attempted to coerce General George Washington into one decisive battle to control the Hudson River. As part of his strategy, Clinton fortified Stony Point. Washington devised a plan for Wayne to lead an attack on the garrison. Armed with bayonets only, the infantry captured the fort in short order, ending British control of the river.

The Battlefield was preserved as a public historic park in 1898 and reclassified as a state historic site in 1976. The ten-acre tip of the peninsula supported a federal manned light station until 1977. Over the years the light station property and its buildings were slowly given to the state historic site as Technology reduced the need for the old infrastructure necessary to aid shipping on the river.

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In 1995, the Stony Point lighthouse, along with several other lighthouses in the area, were restored, relighted and reopened to the public. The architecture of the Stony Point Lighthouse is remarkable. It contains seven oil lamps with reflectors and has gorgeous views of the Hudson River.

Today the United States Coast Guard owns the footprint for the 1925 metal aid to navigation light tower which sits at the water’s edge on the very tip of Stony Point.  This active aid supports the system of lights and signals which guide shipping in the modern era.

How to Visit the Stony Point Battlefield

Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site Museum is open Wednesday – Saturday 10:00 am – 4:30 pm; Sunday 12:00 – 4:30 pm, mid-April through mid-October. Admission is free. For more information, call 845-786-2521, Wednesday - Sunday. Visit the Lighthouse Gallery in the Battlefield museum to learn about the History of the lighthouse and some of its keepers.  A Forth Order Fresnel lens is on display next to the USLHS 1923 fog bell from this Lighthouse.  The lighthouse is undergoing restoration this year and is not open for tours. I'm sure you'll still be able to enjoy it from the outside, though!

A Forth Order Fresnel lens is on display next to the USLHS 1923 fog bell from this Lighthouse.  The lighthouse is undergoing restoration this year and is not open for tours. I'm sure you'll still be able to enjoy it from the outside, though!