Navesink and Sandy Hook Lighthouses

Today being a fairly nice change of weather from our previous cold winter, my wife and I decided to take a trip down to our favorite lighthouses at the Jersey shore, Navesink, the twin towers and Sandy Hook. Navesink is along brick building with two light towers on either side. Inside is a very attractive and interesting museum about the history of the lights. The building itself appears to be a stone fortress and guided freighter traffic in and out of the HudsonRiver from 1828 to 1953. The fortress like brownstone twin towers date back to 1861.They replaced the earlier structure at the beginning of the Civil War. By 1898, the government no longer saw the need for two lights and snuffed out the lamp in the north tower. The powerful south light could be seen for twenty two miles at sea and served until 1953 when it too was snuffed out. Today the station is part of the Twin Lights Historic Society and is administered by the New Jersey Park Service. You can go up in the South tower for a great view and some good pics. Admission is free and the grounds are beautiful with a great view of the New York skyline. Just a few minutes ride from Navesink is SandyHook Light which is the oldest lighthouse in the U.S. dating back to 1764 . Sandy Hook light is located in the old Fort Hancock which dates back to WW11. It is fascinating to drive through and see the old baracks and see the officers buildings and other old abandoned buildings. Some of the buildings are still in use today for environmental studies by the local colleges. Just across from the light itself is an old mortar battery that is really spooky to walk through. Like an old dungeon. Inside you can see the large circles where the mighty mortars once stood and signs on the outside explain all about the history of the mortar battery .