Esopus Meadows

Type:
Year Established:
1839
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1908
Esopus Meadows
Download:
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2005
Photo Credit:
Mike and Carol McKinney
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
WEST SIDE OF HUDSON RIVER
Latitude:
41° 52'
Longitude:
73° 56'
City / Town:
ESOPUS
U.S. State:
New York
Location County:
ULSTER
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
No
Light List Data:
  1. Esopus Meadows
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Year Discontinued:
1965
Year Tower Established:
1872
Tower Construction Material:
WOOD
Tower Foundation:
GRANITE PIER
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
52 feet above water
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
37 feet
Tower Shape:
OCTAGONAL ON SQUARE HOUSE
Tower Daymark:
White
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
Yes
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1871
Keeper's Quarters Style:
VICTORIAN INTEGRAL
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
WOOD

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
No
Current Optic:
REMOVED
Original Optic Type:
FIFTH ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed:
1871
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Comments:

Historical Information:

  • 1838: For $1.00 the land needed for the lighthouse was ceded to the US government by the town of Esopus. The government appropriated $6,000 to build the light.
  • 1839: The light was first lit. This lighthouse was a twin to the Roundout II lighthouse further north up the Hudson River.
  • 1867: The lighthouse was described to be in poor condition due to damage from floods and ice.
  • 1870: Money for a new lighthouse was appropriated.
  • 1871: The new lighthouse was completed. It was the only Hudson River lighthouse with a wooden frame and a clapboard exterior.
  • 1872: The new lighthouse was first lighted.
  • 1965: The lighthouse was discontinued.
  • 1979: The lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • 1990: The Save Esopus Lighthouse Commission was created to restore and preserve the lighthouse. The Coast Guard leased the lighthouse to the group.
  • 2002: Restoration and preservation work on the lighthouse still continues.
Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jul 21, 2017