The Montauk Point Lighthouse will host Lighthouse Weekend on Saturday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 17, offering visitors a look into the history of one of the nation’s oldest working lighthouses.
The event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. both days at the lighthouse grounds, located near Montauk Point State Park at 2000 Montauk Highway.
Commissioned by President George Washington in 1792, Montauk Point was the first lighthouse built in New York and is the fourth-oldest working lighthouse in the United States. Built of sandstone blocks, it remains an active aid to navigation 228 years later, with views of Block Island Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and points west.
“We've hosted Lighthouse Weekends usually the third week in August, and it's been going on for 20 plus years,” said Jason Walter, director of site management for Montauk Point Lighthouse. “We anticipate one thousand plus visitors during each day just on our lighthouse grounds… We have somewhat of a following; we get a lot of people that visit that same weekend every year,” sometimes generation after generation, he said.
One of the weekend’s highlights will be a Revolutionary War reenactment by the New York Third Regiment. The group, established in 1775, sets the scene with uniforms of the day along with cannons, muskets and more.
“Obviously, the place has been here since 1796 so there's been many conflicts…So we have the New York Third Regiment, and they perform with their cannons and do reenactments of how the troops would line up and march. We're just trying to incorporate a lot of the traditional aspects seen over the 230 something years that the lighthouse has been here and capturing history, so it brings things a little bit alive for people,” Walter said.
The weekend also includes performances by Kings of the Coast, a pirate-themed entertainment group.
“They're performers and they do different gigs all around, but they're called Kings of the Coast, and they do pirate shows,” Walter said.
Down the hill from the lighthouse and museum, artisans will demonstrate traditional weaving and spinning techniques. Visitors can also explore handmade wooden colonial toys and games.
“Another interesting piece that we have is colonial toys. She’s an artist from upstate and she comes with these colonial toys of all different types and different games that were all handmade out of wood. These were traditional colonial toys from the early 1900s,” Walter said.
Walter said the weekend aims to reflect the full span of the lighthouse’s history.
“It just bridges the traditions that the lighthouse has been here through, from the lure of wives’ tales around ghosts and pirate activities to the colonial toys. Probably many of the keepers’ kids had similar toys to this as they grew up here on the property, helping with the duties and things that were carried out by our lighthouse keepers,” he said.
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary will also be present to offer contemporary maritime safety lessons.
General admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children.
Montauk Point Lighthouse was constructed by John McComb, the same architect behind Gracie Mansion. He also built lighthouses still in use at Eaton’s Neck, Long Island, and Cape Henry, Virginia. The site was occupied by the U.S. Army during World War II, which built a tower to monitor for submarines.
Once overseen by civilians and later the U.S. Coast Guard, the lighthouse is now maintained by the Montauk Historical Society. The organization also manages the Second House Museum, Indian Museum and the Carl Fisher House. The lighthouse’s current beacon flashes every five seconds and is visible up to 19 nautical miles.
For more information, visit montaukhistoricalsociety.org.