The location of this lighthouse, whose tower’s peak is 60 feet above sea level, was carefully chosen in response to pleadings from 19th-century mariners. The lighthouse illuminated what had been a blind spot by providing passing ships a crucial beacon roughly midway in the 45-mile stretch between Barnegat and Navesink Lighthouses.

The Sea Girt Lighthouse was equipped with a fourth order Fresnel lens, lighted by a kerosene lamp. Weights dropping down a shaft – like the works of a grandfather clock – caused the lens to revolve.

 While the light was constant, it appeared to blink on and off as the light bounced from one prism to the next as the lens slowly turned. The beacon flashed two seconds on every six seconds and could be seen 16 miles at sea.

   
Lighthouse of Distinction
   

The history of the Sea Girt Lighthouse is a rich one, filled with numerous distinctions and achievements. Sea Girt was the last live-in lighthouse built in the United States. Rather than a free-standing structure, the tower is attached to the building where the lighthouse keeper and the keep’s family lived.

The first keeper assigned by the U.S. Lighthouse Service to Sea Girt was Major Wolfe, a retired Army officer. During the Civil War, the Union officer proved an effective spy who would imitate a southern accent, don a grey uniform, and go undercover among captured Confederate troops to learn of their army’s strength, position, and battle plans.

Major Wolfe was stationed at the Sea Girt Lighthouse for seven year. He was succeeded in 1903 by Abram Yates who served until his death in 1910. Despite her grief, Harriet Yates assumed her late husband’s duties for two months as acting lighthouse keeper.
   
First Radio Beacon Navigation

In 1921, the U.S. Lighthouse Service introduced the first radio beacon navigation system by installing radio beacons at the Sea Girt Lighthouse, Fire Island Lighthouse, and the Ambrose Lightship at the entrance to New York Harbor. Ships located their positions by triangulation – tracking the radio signals of the three installations. This was a precursor of the LORAN system.
   
   
It was September 8, 1934, when fire engulfed the luxury liner Morro Castle in a raging storm three miles off Sea Girt in what proved to be its final, fatal voyage from Havana to New York.
As passengers and crew abandoned ship, the Sea Girt Lighthouse offered a beacon of hope and served as a command center for rescue efforts and as a first aid station. Lifeguards, fishermen, and local residents rescued many people.
 
 

Coast Guard Years

The U.S. Coast Guard assumed control of Sea Girt Lighthouse in 1939. Once the U.S. entered World War II, the beacon was turned off, so as not to give direction to enemy ships. But the Coast Guard used the lighthouse as headquarters for beach patrols on the lookout for German U-boats.

After the war, an automatic light – like an airport beacon – was mounted on the top of the lighthouse tower, replacing the Fresnel lens. In 1954, the automatic light was moved from the top of the lighthouse tower to a new, free-standing steel tower, erected on the north lawn. As technology advanced, that light too became obsolete and was turned off. The steel tower was eventually dismantled.

Committee Preserves History

The Borough bought the lighthouse in 1956 for $11,000, using it for various civic functions, including meetings, and as the library and recreation center. In response to borough proposals to close the building and sell it, the all-volunteer Sea Girt Lighthouse Citizens Committee was formed in 1981 and assumed responsibility for maintaining the lighthouse.

Where its beacon comforted and guided generations of sailors, the Sea Girt Lighthouse today preserves and proclaims its fascinating history through guided tours and exhibits of rare photos and artifacts. On display is a Fresnel lens, similar to the original fourth order lens used in the tower. There are also artifacts from the Morro Castle disaster.