The Waackaack Rear Range Light was built in 1856 off the shore of

Keansburg Keansburg ( )Felzenberg, Alvin''Governor Tom Kean: From the New Jersey Statehouse to the 9-11 Commission'' p. 5. Rutgers University Press, 2006. . Accessed July 25, 2012. "In 1884, after congressman and future U.S. senator John Kean, Tom Kean's ...

, in

Monmouth county Monmouth County () is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is bordered to its west by Mercer and Middlesex Counties, to its south by Ocean County, to its east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to its north by ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States. It stood about tall. Although it stood near the water's edge, it was the rear range light in conjunction with the Point Comfort Light on the beach. The light's main purpose was to guide vessels coming into the Raritan Bay. It was initially made of wood, but was replaced in the 1860s by an iron tower.

History

In 1883 a high-powered electric lamp was installed that was magnified by a glass lens. Preparations were made to replace the light-tower beginning in 1891. The tower built for use at the Waackaack Rear Range Light Station was part of the United States Lighthouse Board's exhibit at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

held in Chicago in 1893. This lighthouse was built of iron rings, and as the site for the lighthouse was not ready for its erection at the time the light tower was completed, it became possible for the lighthouse to become an exhibit at the Exposition. When the Borough of Keansburg officially incorporated as a Borough in 1917, it adopted the outline of the Waackaack Range Light as its seal. By the end of the 1950s the lighthouse was dismantled and sold for scrap.

References

* * * * * {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1856 Lighthouses completed in 1894 Lighthouses in New Jersey 1856 establishments in New Jersey Transportation buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey