Plum Island Light
{{about|a historic lighthouse in New York State|the range lights in Wisconsin|Plum Island Range Lights|the historic lighthouse in Rhode Island|Plum Beach Light|the lighthouse on Plum Island, Massachusetts|Newburyport Harbor Light}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox lighthouse
| image_name = Plum Island Lighthouse crop.jpg
| caption = The decommissioned lighthouse pictured in 2012.
| image_size = 275px
| location = Plum Island (New York)
| coordinates = {{coord|41|10|25.20|N|72|12|41.47|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| yearlit = 1827
| automated = 1978
| construction = second light on granite house (1869)
metal tower (1978)
| height = {{convert|50|ft}} from sea level
| lens = 10 whale oil lamps (1827)
Sixth-order fresnel (1856)
Fourth-order fresnel (1897)
Automated flash (1978)
| range = {{convert|5|nmi|km}}
| characteristic = 2.5 second White flash
| module = {{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = Plum Island Light Station
| added = February 11, 2011
| refnum = 11000014
}}
}}
Plum Island Light is located on the western end of Plum Island, which lies in the Long Island Sound, east of Orient Point at the end of the North Fork of Long Island, New York.[http://wlol.arlhs.com/lighthouse/USA606.html ARLHS World List of Lights]{{cite uscgll|1||}} An historic granite lighthouse originally built in 1869 sits at the site, but no longer serves as an active aid to navigation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places listings for February 18, 2011 |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20110218.htm |publisher=National Park Service|date=February 18, 2011}}
A short distance northwest is a {{convert|14|ft}} metal tower that holds the automated light that has served as an aid to navigation since the earlier light was decommissioned in 1978.{{cite uscghist|NY|access-date = 2008-09-08}}
History
In 1826, the west end of Plum Island was purchased from Richard Jerome for $90 for the purpose of building a lighthouse. The following year a {{convert|35|ft|4=-high|adj=mid}} stone tower had been constructed to support the first light. That first light consisted of ten whale oil lamps with reflectors. The light helped navigation near the entrance to Long Island Sound, especially through the "Plum Gut" channel between Orient Point and Plum Island. In 1856, the original lamps and reflectors were replaced by a sixth-order Fresnel lens.{{cite web
| url = http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=743
| title = Plum Island Lighthouse, New York at Lighthousefriends.com
| publisher = LighthouseFriends.com
| access-date =2008-06-03}}
By the late 1860s, the lighthouse was falling into disrepair. A new {{convert|55|ft|4=-tall|adj=mid}} granite lighthouse building was constructed and in service by 1869. The structure is of the same design as lighthouses at Sheffield Island in Norwalk, Connecticut; Morgan Point in Noank, Connecticut; Great Captain Island in Greenwich, Connecticut, Old Field Point in Old Field, New York; and Block Island North on Block Island Rhode Island.{{cite web
| url = http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=782
| title = Great Captain Island Lighthouse, Connecticut at Lighthousefriends.com
| publisher = LighthouseFriends.com
| access-date = 2008-06-02}} The sixth-order lens from the original lighthouse had been moved to the new building; it was changed to a newer fourth-order lens in 1897.
In 1897, Fort Terry was built on Plum Island. The relations between lighthouse keepers and army personnel remained congenial for many years, and the keepers could usually purchase food and supplies at the Fort commissary. But in 1916, an order came down and the keeper at Plum Island Light was informed that purchasing supplies at Fort Terry was no longer allowed. The rule forced William Chapel, the keeper at the time, to sail over a mile to Orient, or {{Convert|12|mi}} to New London to purchase supplies. Eventually, the United States Lighthouse Service was able to persuade the Army that lighthouse keepers should once again be allowed to purchase supplies at army commissaries.
Starting in 1939, the Lighthouse Service duties were taken over by the United States Coast Guard. Coast-Guard-employed keepers were removed from Plum Island in 1978 when the light was automated on a structure built to the side of the 1869 lighthouse.
In 1994, the Fresnel lens was removed from the lighthouse and moved to the East End Seaport Museum in Greenport, where it is on display.
Starting in 2000, the East End Lighthouses group (distinct from the Seaport Museum organization) was formed and has been working since that time with various government agencies to refurbish, and to hopefully eventually relight, the Plum Island light as an active aid to navigation. On April 24, 2007, a resolution was passed by the Town of Southold that will transfer ownership of the lighthouse to the town.{{cite web
| url = http://www.eastendlighthouses.org/piUpdate.htm
| title = Plum Island Update
| publisher = East End Lighthouses
| access-date = 2008-06-03
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080527120621/http://www.eastendlighthouses.org/piUpdate.htm
| archive-date = 2008-05-27
| url-status = dead
}}
The Plum Island Lighthouse is not open for public visits except for community stakeholder groups who are considered for access to Plum Island on a case-by-case basis through the United States Department of Homeland Security. The light may be seen from the water, but landing on the island is restricted to persons authorized by the Department of Homeland Security for official business at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.
In popular culture
The Archives Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History has a collection (#1055) of souvenir postcards of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online. These include postcards of Plum Island Light {{Cite web |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/lighthouses/object.cfm?id=74 |title=Smithsonian lighthouse postcards |access-date=2009-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311052034/http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/lighthouses/object.cfm?id=74 |archive-date=2010-03-11 |url-status=dead }} with links to customized nautical charts provided by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{stack|{{Commons category|Plum Island Light}}}}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.eastendseaport.org/|title=East End Seatport Museum and Marine Foundation|access-date=2008-06-03}}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.scroope.net/lighthouses/longisland/plumisland/default.htm|title=Plum Island (Plum Gut) Lighthouse - Plum Island, Long Island, New York|access-date=2008-06-03|archive-date=2008-05-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527092948/http://www.scroope.net/lighthouses/longisland/plumisland/default.htm|url-status=dead}}
{{Lighthouses of New York}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Lighthouses completed in 1827
Category:Lighthouses completed in 1869
Category:Houses completed in 1869
Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
Category:Lighthouses in Suffolk County, New York
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Southold (town), New York
Category:Plum Island (New York)