Tinicum Island Rear Range Light

Tinicum Island Rear Range Light

Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse, 2013
Location 250 feet (76 m) south of junction of Beacon Avenue and Second Street, Paulsboro, New Jersey
Coordinates 39°50′51″N 75°14′24″W / 39.84750°N 75.24000°W / 39.84750; -75.24000Coordinates: 39°50′51″N 75°14′24″W / 39.84750°N 75.24000°W / 39.84750; -75.24000
Year first constructed 1880[1]
Year first lit 1880[1]
Automated 1933[2]
Foundation Stone masonry[1]
Construction Iron[1]
Tower shape Hexagonal skeletal tower with a spiral staircase with 112 steps to the lantern room[1]
Height 85 feet (26 m)[1]
Original lens Parabolic reflector[1]
Current lens DCB-24 Aerobeacon[3]
Light source Electricity
Intensity 500,000 candlepower from 1,000 watt lamp[1][3]
Range 18 miles (29 km) (within the sight line between front and rear lights)[2]
Characteristic

Fixed red[3]

Tinicum Island Range Rear Light Station
Area 0.9 acres (0.36 ha)
Architect US Lighthouse Board
Architectural style Classical Revival
MPS Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP Reference # 05001053[4]
NJRHP # 208[5]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP September 15, 2005
Designated NJRHP July 12, 2005

The Tinicum Island Rear Range Light is a lighthouse located in the Billingsport section of Paulsboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States,[2] the rear of a pair of range lights marking a section of the channel in the Delaware River south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The lighthouse, surrounded by ball fields next to the new marine terminal for the Port of Paulsboro, is still active for navigation on the Delaware River. It works in conjunction with the Tinicum Front Range Light, known as the Billingsport Front Light, situated on the banks of the Delaware River at the front of Fort Billings Park next to the Paulsboro Refinery.[6]

The lighthouse when keeper's dwelling and related structures were still in place

Front and rear range lighthouses guide sailors who, by aligning the two lights and keeping one light on top of the other, stay in its center and avoid Little Tinicum Island as they travel upstream.[6]

The Tinicum Island Range Lights were activated on New Year’s Eve 1880. They had a visible range of 8.5 nautical miles (15.7 km; 9.8 mi). The lights were changed from oil to electric in 1917.[3] The Coast Guard automated the lights in 1933.[2] The light tower originally had a keeper’s dwelling with seven rooms, along with a brick oil house, frame barn and barnyard, cow shed, poultry house, and privy on 4.8 acres (1.9 ha) of land.[3] The dwelling buildings were demolished sometime in the 1950s after they fell into disrepair.[7] The rear range lighthouse, which is owned by the United States Coast Guard, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 15, 2005.[5]

Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse Society offers regular tours, including a climb to the top of the tower, the third full weekend of each month from April through October and special tours with advance notice.[8] Surrounding views from the lighthouse include Philadelphia and its airport.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: New Jersey". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Harbach, Louise (August 25, 1999). "Paulsboro Lighthouse A Guide To River History". Philadelphia Inquirer Suburban. philly.com. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tinicum Island Rear Range Light History". Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse Society. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  4. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Tinicum Island Range Rear Light Station" (PDF). National Park Service. September 15, 2005. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  5. 1 2 Historic Preservation Office (April 5, 2013). "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places: Gloucester County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. p. 4. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  6. 1 2 Roncace, Kelly (July 22, 2012). "Inland lighthouses such as Tinicum, Finns Point and East Point guide sailors through rivers and bays". Gloucester County Times. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  7. ↑ "Tinicum Rear Range, NJ". lighthousefriends.com. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
  8. ↑ "Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse Society". Retrieved 2013-08-16.
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