Although Sandy Hook Lighthouse wasn’t the first lighthouse built in the United States, it is one of the only early American lighthouses that was never rebuilt. Since the original lighthouse from 1764 is still in use, Sandy Hook Lighthouse is technically the oldest operating lighthouse in the country.
According to records, a lighthouse had been suggested for the tip of Sandy Hook as early as 1679. However, action wasn’t taken to build a lighthouse on the site until a number of shipwrecks occurred during the first three months of 1761. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse fell into British control during the American Revolution, but the structure was so sturdy that the colonists’ attack on the lighthouse failed. Sandy Hook Lighthouse has had repairs over the years, but remains largely unchanged.
