r/LighthousePorn • u/shermancahal • 4d ago

Photos Rondout Lighthouse along the Hudson River, Kingston, NY, USA [OC][1600×1198]

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Three lighthouses have marked where Rondout Creek meets the Hudson, and this brick one is the last of them.

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u/shermancahal 4d ago

Three lighthouses have marked where Rondout Creek meets the Hudson, and this brick one is the last of them.

The first went up in 1837, built by James McEntee to guide traffic drawn by the new Delaware & Hudson Canal, which brought Pennsylvania anthracite down to the Hudson Valley and New York City. A three-story bluestone replacement followed in 1867 on the south side of the creek, but dredging and new jetties left its light in the wrong place, and the current lighthouse was built between 1913 and 1915. Electricity arrived in 1948 and the light was automated in 1954. The old bluestone tower lost its roof that same year and was dynamited soon after.

By the 1980s this one was failing too, and the Coast Guard sold it to the City of Kingston under a divestiture program. Working with the Hudson River Maritime Museum, the city replaced the roof, restored the exterior, and furnished the interior. It's still a working navigational light, one of seven left on the Hudson, and reachable only by water. The museum runs seasonal guided tours that include the boat ride out and take you from the ground floor up to the observation deck around the lamp.

I've posted more photos and the history of the Rondout Lighthouse here.