'Old Barney'
turning 150
Celebration,
relighting planned for LBI beacon
Oct. 9, 2008 |
by Daniel Nee
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After
150 years, it’s still arguably the most
recognizable feature at the Jersey Shore, and
the Ocean County community of Barnegat Light –
named after its most famous resident – will
celebrate the Barnegat Lighthouse’s
sesquicentennial on Oct. 11.
The third tallest lighthouse in America (only
Cape Hatteras Light and Cape Charles Light
eclipse it), the Barnegat Lighthouse stands
172-feet high and was operational as an aid to
navigation from 1859 through 1944, when it was
decommissioned. Before its power was reduced in
1927 when a light ship was anchored about 8
miles off Barnegat Inlet, its first order
Fresnel lens flashed once every ten seconds at
each point of the compass.
The Oct. 11 celebration will include a series of
talks and demonstrations aimed at highlighting
the beacon’s history and significance to the
Shore area. A presentation on bird watching at
Barnegat Light State Park will be held at 11
a.m., a discussion on lighthouses as
navigational aids is scheduled for 1 p.m. and
the Commandant of U.S. Coast Guard Station
Atlantic City, will speak at 4:15 p.m., joined
by other government officials. There will be
other informational events during the day, as
well as concert performances and a Coast Guard
rescue helicopter flyover at 2 p.m. All events
will take place at Barnegat Light State Park.
On Jan. 1, the lighthouse will return to
operation, when the dimly-lit flood light which
now sits atop the structure will be replaced
with a rotating Lucite panel lens lit by a
10-watt bulb. Though it will not be a
government-sanctioned ATON, Old Barney will join
a number of other decommissioned lighthouses
that have been relit as private navigational
aids.
The light, which has been approved for use by
the Coast Guard, should be visible to mariners
up to 15 miles offshore. The new light is being
funded by the Friends of Barnegat Lighthouse
State Park.
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