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 Expected to ship
in July 2001

Photo © Bob Scroope

Long Beach Bar, New York

Harbour Lights Limited Edition #262

A ship’s captain peered through his spyglass, searching the choppy waters for hazards between Orient Harbor and Gardiner’s Bay. The gloomy day, foretelling a violent storm ahead, is a worry to him, so he orders the helmsman to steer for the protected waters of Peconic Bay.

Through his spyglass, he spots a faint light, flashing steadily and growing stronger with each moment. Recognizing the signal as a beacon from a lighthouse, the captain sighs with relief and consults his navigational maps.

As the vessel draws closer to the sentinel, a puzzled expression crosses his face. The Long Beach Bar lighthouse looks rather peculiar from his vantage point. The metal framework of the screwpile foundation looks almost like the spindly legs of an insect. The off-center tower looks like a head atop the square building. the captain thought, it looks just like a bug floating on the water!”  The beacon then became affectionately known as Bug Light, a nickname that has endured the century-long history of this charming sentinel.

The original lighthouse, built on a screwpile foundation, was lit December 1, 1871 and housed a Fifth Order Fresnel Lens. Fifty-five years later, the foundation was improved by concrete to facilitate the installation of central heating an imperative for Lightkeepers who endured the frigid climate during wintry months.

In September of 1938, a hurricane of mammoth proportions struck the area, causing tremendous waves to dash against the unprotected beacon. Severe damage incapacitated the lighthouse.  Salt water spoiled the keeper’s drinking water. Despite the efforts to repair the damage and maintain a light at this station, officials deactivated the light in 1945. Eighteen years later, arsonists set their sights on Bug Light and burned it to the ground. For many years thereafter, the spot would be marked on charts as “Lighthouse Ruins.”

Mariners and lighthouse lovers never forgot the image of Bug Light guarding over the bay. Despite the existence of a buoy near the site, they knew that Bug Light had to be brought back from the missing.

Concerned citizens formed The East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation and began to rebuild the lighthouse. Amazingly, the work was completed in only 60 days. The newly constructed, wood sentinel was taken in pieces, by barge, to the foundation and assembled onsite. In 1990, Bug Light cast a beacon for the first time.  This was a welcomed site to residents. The two story, Victorian structure is 63-feet tall and flashes its 250mm white light every four seconds.

Long Beach Bar, or Bug Light, is an active aid to navigation and is maintained by both the Coast Guard and The East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation. The Foundation can be contacted at P.O. Box 624, Greenport, New York, 11944, (631) 477-0004.

Photography by Paul L. Brady © Harbour Lights 
June 14, 2005