Cedar Point County Park
Encyclopedia
Cedar Point County Park is a 607 acres (2.5 km²) park in East Hampton
, New York
that is owned by the government of Suffolk County, New York
. It has commanding views of Gardiners Bay
and is famed for its decommissioned lighthouse
.
transformed the shoreline, shifting sands to create a narrow, walkable strip that now connects the lighthouse with the mainland.
The 40 foot granite lighthouse which was built in 1868 was decommissioned in 1934 and replaced by an automatic light on a steel skeleton at breakwater. The lighthouse, built in the Italianate style
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Virtually the entire park including the lighthouse was owned at one time by Phelan Beale
, husband of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale
, whose dissolved marriage was the topic of movie, television and Broadway versions of Grey Gardens
. It operated as a hunting club called the Grey Goose Gun Club of Cedar Point. and was acquired by Suffolk County in 1967. The lodge itself is now the park foreman's residence just north of the park's general store.
During the 1970s a small bush plane crash landed in the waters near the point. A father and son were killed instantly and their plane hit the water. The bodies were brought back to Coecles Harbor, Shelter Island and most of the plane parts were found and also brought back to Coecles.
In 1974 vandals burned the interior of the lighthouse.
The Long Island Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society is currently working to restore the Cedar Island Lighthouse. They are seeking $2 million to convert it to a museum and bed and breakfast. Part of the plan includes restoring the lantern.
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
that is owned by the government of Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
. It has commanding views of Gardiners Bay
Gardiners Bay
Gardiners Bay is a small arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 10 mi long and 8 mi wide in the U.S. state of New York between the two flukelike peninsulas at the eastern end of Long Island...
and is famed for its decommissioned lighthouse
Cedar Island Light
Cedar Island Light is a lighthouse in Cedar Point County Park in East Hampton, New York. It has commanding views of Gardiners Bay.-History:The original lighthouse burned down in 1929 in suspicious circumstances and was rebuilt using the surviving material, however the engineer, Michel le Maq...
.
History
Settled in 1651, Cedar Point was once a busy port for shipping farm goods, fish, and timber from Sag Harbor. The historic Cedar Point Lighthouse stood on an island 200 yards from shore when it was built in 1839. Its beacon served to guide whaling ships in and out of Sag Harbor during its hey-day as a major port. The New England Hurricane of 1938New England Hurricane of 1938
The New England Hurricane of 1938 was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869...
transformed the shoreline, shifting sands to create a narrow, walkable strip that now connects the lighthouse with the mainland.
The 40 foot granite lighthouse which was built in 1868 was decommissioned in 1934 and replaced by an automatic light on a steel skeleton at breakwater. The lighthouse, built in the Italianate style
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Virtually the entire park including the lighthouse was owned at one time by Phelan Beale
Phelan Beale
Phelan Beale was a wealthy attorney and sportsman in New York City.Beale, who was married to Edith Ewing Bouvier, an aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is probably best remembered as the absent father chronicled in the Grey Gardens saga portrayed in a 1975 movie documentary, 2006 Broadway...
, husband of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale
Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale
Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale , aunt of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, was an American amateur singer, known for her eccentric lifestyle, and part of the New York high society...
, whose dissolved marriage was the topic of movie, television and Broadway versions of Grey Gardens
Grey Gardens
Grey Gardens is a 1975 documentary film by Albert and David Maysles, with Susan Froemke, Ellen Hovde, and Muffie Meyer. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive socialites, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived at Grey Gardens, a decrepit mansion at 3 West End Road in...
. It operated as a hunting club called the Grey Goose Gun Club of Cedar Point. and was acquired by Suffolk County in 1967. The lodge itself is now the park foreman's residence just north of the park's general store.
During the 1970s a small bush plane crash landed in the waters near the point. A father and son were killed instantly and their plane hit the water. The bodies were brought back to Coecles Harbor, Shelter Island and most of the plane parts were found and also brought back to Coecles.
In 1974 vandals burned the interior of the lighthouse.
The Long Island Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society is currently working to restore the Cedar Island Lighthouse. They are seeking $2 million to convert it to a museum and bed and breakfast. Part of the plan includes restoring the lantern.