Just In Jersey
Rising to the Challenge: Annual event shines light on historic beacons of hope
by Susan Bloom | For Jersey's Best October 9, 2019
Posted on October 9, 2019 by Hunter Hulbert - Family
Barnegat Lighthouse is among the stops on 'The Lighthouse Challenge,' an event that encourages residents to visit and explore New Jersey's historic beacons. Photo courtesy of Getty Images
For as long as he can remember, Bound Brook resident David Chandler has been interested in lighthouses. "They're majestic beacons of light that mariners looked to for guidance all throughout history," said Chandler, 65. "It's interesting to imagine people living and working in them centuries ago."
Growing up at the Jersey shore, Chandler has visited a handful of the state's lighthouses and has also participated in "The Lighthouse Challenge," one of New Jersey's most unique and iconic annual events. Held the third weekend of October every year since 2000 and celebrating its milestone 20th anniversary this year, the event challenges participants to visit (and hopefully climb) each of the 14 official lighthouse, museum and life-saving station stops along the shore and receive a souvenir at each location; completion of the challenge over the course of the weekend then enters them into a raffle for a grand prize.
A look at the Fresnel lens of Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City. The optical device, made in Paris, was constructed specifically for this 150-plus-year-old lighthouse. Photo courtesy of NJ.com
This year's event includes 10 lighthouse stops at Absecon (Atlantic City), Barnegat (Barnegat Light), Cape May, East Point (Heislerville), Finn's Point (Pennsville), Navesink Twin Lights (Highlands), Sandy Hook, Sea Girt, Tinicum (Paulsboro) and Tucker's Island (Tuckerton), as well as three life-saving stations in Stone Harbor, Ocean City and Manasquan and a museum in Barnegat Light. The Challenge will run from Oct. 19 to 20.
"We get thousands of participants coming out every year," said Nanci Coughlin, director of tour operations for the Cape May Lighthouse and chair of the Lighthouse Managers of New Jersey Committee, which has run the Lighthouse Challenge since 2010 (taking over from the New Jersey Lighthouse Society).
According to Coughlin, visitors can start the Challenge at any point. "After paying a one-time $5 entrance fee at your first site, you get a souvenir book with slots for every location and a special 20th anniversary coin and proceed to collect the unique souvenir — a special pressed penny this year — from each site you visit," she said. Despite the hefty 500- to 600-mile round trip involved in visiting all of the sites between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. over the two-day period (three lighthouses offer night hours as well), "some 1,200 to 1,500 or more people typically complete the Challenge every year, especially if there's good weather," she said. Those who finish are entered into a raffle to win a basket of lighthouse memorabilia contributed by each location – including T-shirts, hats, rain totes, figurines, artwork, post cards, calendars and other goodies – that's valued at $1,000.
"People love the outdoors, the history of these great sites and the challenge of traveling across the state," Coughlin said of the appeal of the unique event.
Sandy Hook Lighthouse, which stands as both the state's and nation's oldest-standing and oldest-operating lighthouse, is 255 years old. Photo courtesy of NJ.com
New Jersey's 'Castles'
For Coughlin, one of the most fascinating things about visiting New Jersey's lighthouses is seeing how different they all are. While construction of many of the sites was funded by businesses in the 18th and 19th century in an effort to spur on commerce to the coastal area, "lighthouses like Absecon, Barnegat Light and Cape May all feature tall towers, while smaller lighthouses like Sea Girt and East Point are houses," she said. "By contrast, Tinicum and Finn's Point are 'rear range' lighthouses – parts of original aligned pairs of front and rear lighting systems that helped sailors navigate through the center of their channels and avoid running aground."
In 2000, a replica of the original two-story Tucker's Island Lighthouse (which fell into the sea in 1927) was built as the centerpiece of nearby tourist destination Tuckerton Seaport in Tuckerton. Photo courtesy of Tuckerton Seaport
According to Tom Hoffman, park ranger historian, Sandy Hook Unit, Gateway National Recreation Area, the rich maritime history of the state's lighthouses – especially 255-year-old Sandy Hook, which stands as both the state's and nation's oldest-standing and oldest-operating lighthouse – makes his job endlessly rewarding. "For me, lighthouses are a physical link to America's age of sail, which peaked in the 1800s before giving way to steam engine propulsion, so our lighthouses remind me of a bygone era when wind power was harnessed to move ships and sailors all over the world," he said. Hoffman also finds the stalwart nature and resilience of these structures particularly alluring. "These 'silent sentinels by the sea' stand in all kinds of weather and are always there," he said.
Jean Muchanic, executive director of Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City, agreed. "There's the mystique of old castles throughout Europe, but America is much newer, so our coastal network of maritime lighthouses is our history," she said. "Mariners looked to these lighthouses as symbols of hope, survival and life."
"Lighthouses are mysterious and are often placed in awkward, lonely and desolate places," added Paul Hart, former executive director of Tuckerton Seaport (site of the replica Tucker's Island Lighthouse) and member of the Lighthouse Managers of New Jersey Committee. He noted that lighthouses also welcomed many immigrants to America's shores. In an era when these beacons were all that mariners had to guide them through dark waters, dangerous shifting channels and other difficult conditions, "lighthouses are full of the sadness, hardship and rescue that embody the yin and yang of life's journey," he said.
Visitors enjoy the view from the Cape May Lighthouse during a recent Lighthouse Challenge. Photo courtesy of Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities
A Fun Family Event
Regardless of the lighthouse they represent, all of the lighthouse managers agree that the Garden State's Lighthouse Challenge serves many important functions.
"As a state-owned historic site, we need to raise money to keep our light shining for New Jersey and the nation," said Muchanic of Absecon Lighthouse, which welcomes more than 24,000 visitors year-round but is facing a $3.2 million restoration of its brick tower. "The state of New Jersey also has been undertaking extensive renovations of its Navesink Twin Lights, Barnegat and Cape May lighthouses in recent years to preserve them for future generations."
The Navesink Twin Lights is one of a few New Jersey lighthouses that has undergone renovations to preserve the mystical structures for generations to come. Photo by Robert Tyler Breckenridge
"Lighthouses are expensive to maintain and staff," agreed Coughlin of the need for the Lighthouse Challenge, which represents the one time of year when all of New Jersey's lighthouses agree to be open for the entire weekend. "For many of the sites, this is their biggest fundraiser of the year," she said.
From a tourism perspective, "October represents the 'shoulder season' for the Jersey shore, and the Lighthouse Challenge is a big economic driver for area hotels and restaurants at that time," Hart said.
In other respects, the value of the event can't necessarily be measured in dollars. "The Lighthouse Challenge raises money, but also promotes awareness of these historic structures," Hart said. "While they're a thing from the past, they're all still relevant. Each of our lighthouses has its own story and the Challenge is a uniquely fun thing to do in New Jersey."
So unique, in fact, that Maryland has imitated the event with its own version run every other year.
"People arrive with a smile and leave with a smile," Muchanic agreed of the Lighthouse Challenge. "It's a ton of fitness and camaraderie in one weekend, and participants have fun setting goals and achieving them. As lighthouse managers, we all take pride in running this annual event for everyone."
The DCB-24 Red Beacon at the top of the Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse can be seen for miles along the Delaware River. Photo courtesy of NJ.com
"You grow such an appreciation for our lighthouses and the people who keep and staff them," Coughlin said. "They're passionate about these sites and love to share their enthusiasm with visitors."
"New Jersey's Lighthouse Challenge is a great time for people of all ages," Sandy Hook's Hoffman concurred. "In today's electronic age when we all spend hours staring at computers, this event is a challenge to people to get out into the state, discover our lighthouses and get actively involved in helping to preserve them or else they'll fall into disrepair and eventually disappear." If that happens, he said, "everyone loses, especially our future generations."
Ultimately, concluded Muchanic, "we work hard to keep the light shining so that these important historic sites can be preserved and shared."
10 Fun Facts About New Jersey's Lighthouses
At 171 feet and 228 steps, Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City is the tallest lighthouse in New Jersey and the third-tallest masonry lighthouse in the United States. It's also the only lighthouse in the state with its original, first-order Fresnel Lens still in place at the top.
New Jersey's three tallest lighthouses, Absecon Lighthouse, Barnegat Lighthouse and Cape May Lighthouse, became operational between 1857 and 1859 and were all designed by army engineer and Civil War Union Gen. George Meade.
First lit on June 11, 1764, Sandy Hook Lighthouse represents the oldest-standing and oldest-operating lighthouse in the United States. In 1863, the lighthouse's stone tower was lined with bricks to strengthen the structure.
East Point Lighthouse. Photo by Shannon Salvino
Originally built in 1848, the lighthouse on Tucker's Island crumbled into the sea during a storm in 1927. In 2000, a replica of the original two-story lighthouse was built as the centerpiece of nearby tourist destination Tuckerton Seaport in Tuckerton. Among other claims to fame, "We're the only lighthouse in New Jersey that has an elevator!" said Paul Hart, former executive director of Tuckerton Seaport.
Sandy Hook and Cape May — the state's most northern and southern lighthouses, respectively — are the only lighthouses still active in New Jersey.
As a result of compromises to the dune system that protects it, the East Point Lighthouse in Heislerville is listed as one of New Jersey's '10 Most Endangered Historic Sites' in 2019.
In 1893, Navesink Twin Lights in Highlands was selected as the location for the first official oral recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance as America's national oath of loyalty.
Built in 1896 to illuminate a dark spot midway along the 38.5-mile stretch between the Navesink Twin Lights and Barnegat Lighthouse, Sea Girt Lighthouse is the last live-in lighthouse built on the Atlantic Coast.
New Jersey's "Lighthouse Challenge" was founded in 2000 by the Lighthouse Society of New Jersey, which ran the successful event for its first 10 years; since 2010, management of the event has been overseen by the Lighthouse Managers of New Jersey.
The lighthouses at Absecon, Cape May and Tinicum are the only three sites in New Jersey to offer night climbs on the Saturday (Oct. 19) of the 2019 Lighthouse Challenge.
5 comments on "Rising to the Challenge: Annual event shines light on historic beacons of hope"
Marge Mollema on October 12th, 2019 - 8:12am
A nice tribute to New Jersey. Will do the Challenge this year, thank you for posting this event.
Carol Winkie, President of the New Jersey Lighthouse Society on October 16th, 2019 - 1:39pm
The Lighthouse Challenge was founded by The New Jersey Lighthouse Society in 2000, not by the Lighthouse Society of New Jersey. We ran it for 10 years and have an exhibit at Finns Point showing our 10 year history. Hope to see many visitors this year at Finns Point. We are very proud of our creation and are glad that the Lighthouse Managers of New Jersey have continued to run the Lighthouse Challenge with great successful.
Doreen Berson on October 16th, 2019 - 7:32pm
As Chairman of the event for many of the first 10 years (Rick Weber of the New Jersey Lighthouse Society came up with the idea of the Lighthouse Challenge and was it's first Chairman) , I'm so happy the Lighthouse Managers have continued the event for the past 10 years. I'm planning to take the Challenge with my sister this year and hope to see many of the people I volunteered with along the way. I hope everyone enjoys the event!
Angelo Rigazio on October 17th, 2019 - 2:17pm
You didn't mention the lighthouses in the Delaware Bay there are 5 of them in Jersey waters.The Delaware Bay lighthouse keepers will be at Cape May lighthouse and we have the token to complete the challenge.
Hunter Hulbert on October 17th, 2019 - 2:40pm
For the purposes of the Lighthouse Challenge, those lighthouses in the Delaware Bay are not included as they are not accessible by foot/car.
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