Elm Tree Range Front

Alternate Name(s):
Swash Channel Range
Type:
Year Established:
1856
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1908
Elm Tree Range NY 1999 Mike & Carol McKinney.jpg
Download:
File Type:
jpg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
1999
Photo Credit:
Mike and Carol McKinney
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Latitude:
40° 33.50'
Longitude:
74° 05.44'
U.S. State:
New York
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
No
Light List Data:
  1. Elm Tree Range Front
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Year Discontinued:
1964
Year Tower Established:
1939
Tower Construction Material:
Concrete
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
60 feet above water
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
55 feet
Tower Shape:
Square
Tower Daymark:
White
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
No

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
No
Original Optic Type:
Range Lens
Year Original Lens Installed:
1856
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Comments:

Historical Information:

  • 1856: The wooden skeletal tower had a third order lens. The keeper’s dwelling was next to the tower. The tower was part of range lights with the New Dorp Lighthouse located 1.8 miles away as the front range light.
  • 1899: The Swash Channel, which the lighthouse marked, had moved its course. The lighthouse needed to be moved.
  • 1939: The light was moved from the wooden skeletal tower to a 65 foot concrete tower on Miller Airfield and a sixth order lens was installed. The wooden tower was then torn down.
  • 1964: The range lights were replaced with channel markers and deactivated.
  • 1969: Miller Field was decommissioned and ownership of the land transferred to the National Park Service. The land was turned into recreational use with several ball fields. The concrete tower and a hangar still stand on the sight.
  • The channel is now marked by Staten Island Light and West Bank Light.
Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jan 15, 2018