Chapel Hill Rear Range Light
Encyclopedia
The Chapel Hill Rear Range Light is a lighthouse
which functioned as the rear light of the now-discontinued Chapel Hill Range.
and the Point Comfort Light). It worked in concert with the Conover Beacon
to mark the Chapel Hill Channel, which runs north-south between the main Ambrose Channel
and the secondary channel into Raritan Bay
. The light took its name from a Baptist church built in 1809.
In 1957 this light was discontinued and replaced by a steel tower much closer to the front light (200 ft, as opposed to 1.5 mi (2.4 km). for the original lights). The old house was auctioned off in 1959 and sold to a New York businessman who intended it as a present for his amateur astronomer son. The building has since had several owners, who put an addition on the east end, added dormers along the roof line, and added various decorative touches.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
which functioned as the rear light of the now-discontinued Chapel Hill Range.
History
This light was one of three identical lighthouses built along the New York harbor approaches in the 1850s (the others being the New Dorp LightNew Dorp Light
The New Dorp Lighthouse is a decommissioned lighthouse located in the New Dorp section of, Staten Island, New York. Funds for the lighthouse were approved by Congress August 31, 1852 and the structure was completed in 1856...
and the Point Comfort Light). It worked in concert with the Conover Beacon
Conover Beacon
The Conover Beacon is a lighthouse in Leonardo, New Jersey that functioned as the front light of the now-discontinued Chapel Hill Range.-History:...
to mark the Chapel Hill Channel, which runs north-south between the main Ambrose Channel
Ambrose Channel
Ambrose Channel is the main shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The channel is considered to be part of Lower New York Bay and is located several miles off the coasts of Sandy Hook in New Jersey and Breezy Point, Queens in New York...
and the secondary channel into Raritan Bay
Raritan Bay
Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on the south by the Raritan...
. The light took its name from a Baptist church built in 1809.
In 1957 this light was discontinued and replaced by a steel tower much closer to the front light (200 ft, as opposed to 1.5 mi (2.4 km). for the original lights). The old house was auctioned off in 1959 and sold to a New York businessman who intended it as a present for his amateur astronomer son. The building has since had several owners, who put an addition on the east end, added dormers along the roof line, and added various decorative touches.