Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • s p r i n g 2 0 1 5 32 JERSEY SHORE LANDMARKS TWIN LIGHTS, continued from page 31 ated and transferred to the Twin Lights Historical Society. A $50,000. grant from the Herman Goldman Foundation helped to install new walkways around the Lights. But there was something missing— the Twin Lights' 1893 Fresnel lens, the largest such lens in the U.S. Years before, it had gone to the Boston Museum of Science. The Rumson Garden Club facilitated a $5,000. grant to bring the lens back "home." With the assistance of the head curator of the Boston Museum of Science, Vibbert personally disas- sembled the Fresnel lenses—each with a unique optical quality—and cata- logued their positions. The prisms were transported by the heavy haul- ers, Shaughnessy & Ahern Company. Reassembling the prisms required ingenuity, including finding a subma- rine machinist who could manufac- ture modern brass screws that fit the French threads. The great lens, driven by a clockwork drive, rotated on a base filled with ten tons of mercury. Today, this Fresnel lens, the largest in the U.S., is on display in the elec- trical generation building at the Twin Lights. Vibbert credits the Twin Lights Historical Society for helping to pre- serve the Lights and for restoring the Fresnel lens. At the museum facility, tours of the lighthouse, a climb of the north tower with its expansive ocean views, and a view of the light- house equipment awaits visitors. u The Twin Lights is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places and is part of the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail. Among the annual events held at the light- house are The Twin Lights Twilight 5K Run (usually held in August) and the Annual Lighthouse Challenge (October 17-18). The grounds are open 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The lighthouse tower, museum, gift shop, and other buildings are open daily 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM from Memorial Day through Labor Day and Wednesdays - Sundays from September through May. The park is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and state holidays. In case of inclement weather, please call for hours of operation. Guided group tours are available with advanced reservations. Admission is free. For more information about the Twin Lights, visit www.twinlightslighthouse.com or call (732) 872-1814. ing station at the Twin Lights, and sailed out to the fleet. The timing couldn't have been better. Admiral Dewey's naval fleet was steaming to port to a hero's welcome after vic- tory in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, and the races were postponed. On September 30, Marconi used the wireless telegraph to report from the Atlantic ahead of the naval fleet and the transmission was a success. On October 3, the America's Cup was resumed and was hotly contest- ed. From the S.S. Ponce, Marconi reported via Morse Code the results of the races: on October 16, the deciding event was run with the American sailing vessel Columbia owned by J.P. Morgan beating the British Shamrock owned by Sir Thomas Lipton. The Herald scooped the competitors and demonstrat- ed the commercial value of wire- less communication. The display impressed members of the Navy and the Lighthouse Board so much that Congress appropriated funds to purchase equipment for several light- ships and remote lightstations. "Mystery Ray" Ushers In Secret Technology According to David Veasey's Guarding New Jersey's Shore – Lighthouses and Life-Saving Stations, radio beacons for navigation were tested at the Twin Lights. In the 1930s, the Army Signal Corps set up equipment near the north tower that was being developed at nearby Fort Monmouth. The newspapers got wind of this technology and called it a "Mystery Ray." These were some of the first long-range radar tests. Only a few years later, this emerging technology would save countless lives when the U.S. went to war. First Federally Established Coastal Lifesaving Station The Twin Lights grounds include the Spermaceti Cove Boat Building. It is the northernmost of eight orig- inal U.S. Lifesaving Service stations, and it is one of a few such surviving structures in the country. It was the first federal lifesaving station built in U.S. under the Newell Act of 1848. The act was named after New Jersey physician William A. Newell, who witnessed lives in the balance on shipwrecks along the coast and championed the critical need for bet- ter equipment, training, communica- tion, and organization to save lives. The boathouse equipment artifacts in the collection at the Twin Lights site are the originals that were issued in 1849, making them the oldest surviving pieces of this type of equip- ment. As such, this boathouse and its artifacts are not only of local and state historical interest, but also national historical interest. Bringing Back The Twin Lights When he served as superintendent of Cheesequake State Park between 1969 and 1989, William "Bill" Vibbert took on responsibilities for a con- stellation of parks. In the beginning, the Twin Lights was in deteriorating condition and closed; for all practical purposes, it was an abandoned build- ing. Vibbert initiated and received a grant of $650,000. from the Federal Historic, Cultural, and Recreation Service to renovate the Navesink Lighthouse (known more familiar- ly as "Twin Lights of Highlands"). Replacement stones were cast, and a new stairway to the south tower was installed along with a new roof and repointing of masonry. After that was done, comprehen- sive interior renovations were made, creating space for exhibits and an auditorium. New exhibits were cre- Gordon Hesse The Spermaceti Cove Boat Building, the first federal U.S. Lifesaving Service station ever built, was moved to Highlands from Sandy Hook. It is one of the few of such structures that still remains. In the collection is the origi- nal boathouse gear, which was issued in 1849, making it the oldest surviving pieces of this type of rescue equipment.

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