HEREFORD INLET LIGHTHOUSE
North Wildwood, New Jersey
By far the cutest lighthouse of all I saw in New Jersey or New York. Another difficult one to find. The street I was looking for did not actually intersect the road I came over on from the Garden State Pkwy. Funny to me that several people who lived there could not tell me how to find it. Very beautiful gardens surrounding the house, ones to make you envious. Butterflies and hummingbirds flit about in ecstasy with all the bright choices. Prime location too. I'd love to own this place on the coast. They gotta get rid of that unsightly antenna thing right next to the house, though.
Although I did park, there's a little lot as well as along the street, and go in the store, my timing was off to catch the tour. After all, I was working my way up the coast from Cape May to Sandy Hook and it was already lunch time. If you do visit, please take some time to wander about and go on the tour. The lighthouse had one of the plusher furnishings for lighthouse living. Very much the Victorian style house, I am reminded of its sister lighthouse on the west coast, Point Fermin in Los Angeles.
Hereford Inlet was erected in 1874 at a moderate cost of $25,000, it was fitted with a 4th order Fresnel lens that shone from a focal plane of 53 feet. It was initially a fixed white light, but in 1897, it was changed to emit an alternating red and white flash. The Coast Guard put it out of service in 1964. This grand lighthouse nearly succumbed to neglect after withstanding a fierce hurricane in 1889 that washed most of the surrounding community away, as well as additional storms and fires since. In 1986, the lighthouse reopened as an active aid to navigation, thanks to the work and commitment of the local citizens. The original lens is still in use. Hereford Inlet lighthouse is listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
Here's how I
saw it:
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OF THE MOUNTAINS
John B Caddell
Copyright 2001