Esopus Meadows Lighthouse (Maid of the Meadows), Port Ewen, Ulster County, New York
ESOPUS MEADOWS (MIDDLE HUDSON RIVER) LIGHT
WEST SIDE OF HUDSON RIVER
Station Established: 1839
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1872
Operational? NO
Automated? YES 1965
Deactivated: 1965
Foundation Materials: GRANITE PIER
Construction Materials: WOOD
Tower Shape: OCTAGONAL ON SQUARE HOUSE
Height: 52 feet (1871 light)
Markings/Pattern: WHITE HOUSE W/RED MANSARD ROOF
Relationship to Other Structure: INTEGRAL
Original Lens: FIFTH ORDER, FRESNEL 1872
Historical Chronology:
- 1838: For $1.00 the land needed for the lighthouse was ceded to the US government by the town of Esopus. The government appropriated $6,000 to build the light.
- 1839: The light was first lit. This lighthouse was a twin to the Roundout II lighthouse further north up the Hudson River.
- 1867: The lighthouse was described to be in poor condition due to damage from floods and ice.
- 1870: Money for a new lighthouse was appropriated.
- 1871: The new lighthouse was completed. It was the only Hudson River lighthouse with a wooden frame and a clapboard exterior.
- 1872: The new lighthouse was first lighted.
- 1939: The US Coast Guard acquired the lighthouse.
- 1965: The lighthouse was closed.
- 1979, May 29: The lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1990: The Save Esopus Lighthouse Commission was created to restore and preserve the lighthouse. The Coast Guard leased the lighthouse to the group.
- 2002: Restoration and preservation work on the lighthouse still continues. Recent efforts have been made to fix the cracked foundation.
Chronology was researched and written by Diane Hackney.