West Point Lighthouse - West Point, NY
Also known as the Old Cro' Nest Lighthouse or Gee's Point Lighthouse, the lighthouse at West Point marked a rocky outcropping into the river near the West Point Military Academy. A stake light was installed in 1853, which was replaced in 1872 with a wooden light tower. In 1888 a fog bell tower and house were added in front of the lighthouse. In 1908, the fog bell tower caught fire and burned. A bucket brigade helped save the light tower. Decommissioned in 1946, it was replaced with a skeleton light.
Structural Specifications
The following information is available courtesy the U.S. Lighthouse Society:
STRUCTURE
Year Discontinued: 1946
Disposition: Replaced by Steel Skeletal Tower in 1946
Year Tower Established: 1872
Tower Construction Material: WOOD
Height of light above mean high water, in feet: 38.5
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern: 20
Tower Shape: HEXAGONAL VICTORIAN
Tower Daymark: White
Fog Signal Building? No
Keeper's Quarters? No
Year Keeper's Quarters: 1853
OPTICS
Active Aid to Navigation? No
Original Optic Type: SIXTH ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed: 1853
Private Aid: No
USCG Access to Optics: No
STRUCTURE
Year Discontinued: 1946
Disposition: Replaced by Steel Skeletal Tower in 1946
Year Tower Established: 1872
Tower Construction Material: WOOD
Height of light above mean high water, in feet: 38.5
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern: 20
Tower Shape: HEXAGONAL VICTORIAN
Tower Daymark: White
Fog Signal Building? No
Keeper's Quarters? No
Year Keeper's Quarters: 1853
OPTICS
Active Aid to Navigation? No
Original Optic Type: SIXTH ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed: 1853
Private Aid: No
USCG Access to Optics: No
Keepers
- ?-1853 - Edward Ellis, Principal Keeper
- 1853-1866 - John A. Ellis, Principal Keeper
- 1866-1871 - Jeremiah Dinan, Principal Keeper
- 1871-1877 - Hugh Jones, Principal Keeper
- 1877-1892 - Jeremiah Dinan, Principal Keeper
- 1892-1894 - Joseph C. Miller, Principal Keeper
- 1894-1909 - ???
- 1909-at least 1912 - Joseph B. Elsen, Principal Keeper
- ?-1913 - Christian F. Leeuw, Principal Keeper
- 1913-at least 1929 - A. Philip Anderson, Principal Keeper
- 1933-at least 1941 - Stephen J. Nolan, Captain-Master? (also listed as Light Attendant)
February 21, 1894, "Removed the Light House Keeper," Newburgh Register
"Secretary Carlisle, upon the recommendation of Captain Evans, naval secretary of the lighthouse board, yesterday removed from office J.C. Miller, keeper of the West Point lighthouse. Mr. Miller's removal is the first one made during the present administration in the lighthouse service, and the cause assigned is partisan activity to the neglect of duty. The charge against him included dressing in a conspicuous uniform and being the leader in a political parade, violating the laws of the state of New York by electioneering within the limits prohibited by law, and his disrespect to the president of the United States." [Editor's Note: The midterm election of 1894 resulted in a Republican landslide victory and a repudiation of Democratic president Grover Cleveland's failure to address the Panic of 1893.]
March 2, 1894, "Will Keep the West Point Light," Cold Spring Recorder
"Joseph Elsen, keeper of the Conshook [Con Hook] Island lighthouse, has been appointed keeper of the West Point lighthouse in place of Joseph C. Miller, removed. The salary has been cut down from $600 to $300."
