The Fire Island Lighthouse: America’s Most Important

Join author Bill Bleyer for this presentation about the history of the Fire Island Lighthouse from 1826 to present day. Topics discussed will include how offshore shipwrecks dating from colonial times prompted the construction of the first lighthouse on Fire Island in 1826, the inadequacies of that lighthouse that led to the construction of a taller tower in 1858, and the development of improved lighthouse illumination apparatus including the Fresnel lens.