Twin Lights Historical Society

Twin Lights Historical Society The Twin Lights are situated 250 feet above sea level in Highlands, New Jersey.

The Twin Lights Historical Society is dedicated to preserving NJ's foremost lighthouse and museum, and to celebrate the history and culture of coastal New Jersey. They overlook the Shrewsbury River, Sandy Hook, Raritan Bay, New York skyline and the Atlantic Ocean. Twin Lights have been used as an aid to navigation over the coastal waters of NJ since 1828. The light station served as the primary lighthouse for New York Harbor and was known as the best and the brightest light in North America.

We have a winner! Steve, originally from Colts Neck, won the drawing for the Historical Society Raffle Basket. He was i...
08/23/2026

We have a winner! Steve, originally from Colts Neck, won the drawing for the Historical Society Raffle Basket. He was in town visiting his mother and family when they purchased a few Twin Lights Historical Society raffle basket tickets during a visit to the lighthouse on July 3 to get a view of the tall ships in New York Harbor for the Sail250 event—and grab a taste of home (pork roll breakfast sandwich, of course).

Thank you to all of the visitors who purchased raffle basket tickets, as a non-profit volunteer organization, we really appreciate your support!

Pictured here are Steve's mother and brother-in-law picking up the winning basket, and Steve with his Mom!

On this day in 1906…The sons of the Carmanah Point Lighthouse keeper in British Columbia discover a rowboat containi...
08/22/2026

On this day in 1906…The sons of the Carmanah Point Lighthouse keeper in British Columbia discover a rowboat containing 8 skeletons in a cave. The boat was from the steamer Valencia, which wrecked off the Vancouver coast seven months earlier.

Fletcher Pratt • 1897–1956Fletcher Pratt’s intellectual appetite knew no bounds. A celebrated futurist and Science Fi...
08/21/2026

Fletcher Pratt • 1897–1956
Fletcher Pratt’s intellectual appetite knew no bounds. A celebrated futurist and Science Fiction writer—as well as an early game theorist—he opened his 30-plus-room Highlands mansion to New York authors and artists and called it the Ipsy-Wipsy Institute. Among his regular visitors were fellow sci-fi writers Isaac Asimov and L. Ron Hubbard, who once told the group, “You don't get rich writing Science Fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.”

On this day… Boston Light keepers Clark and Jennings greet 17-year-old Alsie Aykroyd as she completes her record-set...
08/20/2026

On this day… Boston Light keepers Clark and Jennings greet 17-year-old Alsie Aykroyd as she completes her record-setting swim from Charlestown Bridge. She is just the fourth swimmer to successfully reach the lighthouse.

Nellie McHenry • 1853–1935The sprightly McHenry was America’s original song-and-dance girl—before such a thing even e...
08/19/2026

Nellie McHenry • 1853–1935
The sprightly McHenry was America’s original song-and-dance girl—before such a thing even existed. She gained early fame in Chicago as the star of Salisbury’s Troubadours and later went on to produce her own elaborate traveling shows with husband (and fellow Troubadour) Johnny Webster. They named their Highlands home Liberty Hall.

On this day in 1915…A hurricane slams into Galveston Island, killing more than 40 people. Among the dead are the wif...
08/18/2026

On this day in 1915…A hurricane slams into Galveston Island, killing more than 40 people. Among the dead are the wife and daughter of the lighthouse keeper, Captain Steinfeld.

On this day in 1927… Newspaper wire services carry a story about charismatic Los Angeles evangelist Aimee McPherson,...
08/16/2026

On this day in 1927… Newspaper wire services carry a story about charismatic Los Angeles evangelist Aimee McPherson, who opens a small lighthouse near her temple to collect donations for the poor.

On this day in 1924…The National Geographic Society issues a bulletin extolling the virtues of Socotra, an island of...
08/15/2026

On this day in 1924…The National Geographic Society issues a bulletin extolling the virtues of Socotra, an island off the Horn of Africa. The bulletin mentions that the lighthouse keeper may have been eaten by cannibals.

On this day in 1895…The Passaic Daily News runs a story chronicling the exploits of 20 women who tend lighthouses in...
08/14/2026

On this day in 1895…The Passaic Daily News runs a story chronicling the exploits of 20 women who tend lighthouses in the US, including Janet Maltby of the Elk Neck light, who famously rescued six drowning sailors during an 1894 storm on Chesapeake Bay.

Address

2 Lighthouse Road
Highlands, NJ
07732

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+17328721814

Website

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