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.

On this day in 1903…George Lehman, an elderly assistant keeper at the Parris Island Rear Range Lighthouse in South C...
06/13/2026

On this day in 1903…George Lehman, an elderly assistant keeper at the Parris Island Rear Range Lighthouse in South Carolina, loses his footing on a scaffolding platform and falls to his death. He had been in the lighthouse service for more than three decades.

06/13/2026

Epic view from Twin Lights on 7/3!

John Hamilton • 1681–1747Hamilton, the son of the proprietary governor of East and West New Jersey, lived in Perth Am...
06/12/2026

John Hamilton • 1681–1747
Hamilton, the son of the proprietary governor of East and West New Jersey, lived in Perth Amboy and served on the colony’s provincial council under four governors—and was briefly acting governor himself on two occasions. During the summer of 1746, Hamilton received a request from British authorities in New York to erect a beacon that would alert New York if French warships approached the harbor. He ordered the Monmouth County militia to install large pots atop the Navesink Highlands and fill them with whale oil. The French never attacked, but ironically three decades later the beacon was used to call local fighters to action AGAINST the British. Prior to construction of the first Navesink light station in 1828, the beacon was sometimes employed as a warning to ships approaching the coast.

On this day in 1900…Three men are thrown into New York’s East River after their rowboat is overturned by the wake of...
06/11/2026

On this day in 1900…Three men are thrown into New York’s East River after their rowboat is overturned by the wake of a passing ferry. Lighthouse keeper John Donnelly rows to their rescue but is able to save only one of the three men.

On this day in 1922…Ellsworth Smith, keeper of the Conimicut Light in Naragansett Bay, returns from a trip to the ma...
06/10/2026

On this day in 1922…Ellsworth Smith, keeper of the Conimicut Light in Naragansett Bay, returns from a trip to the mainland to find his wife Nellie and one son dead, with another writhing in agony. Nellie Ellsworth, who had begged her husband to quit his job, poisoned herself and two children.

Francis Bellamy •1855–1931Bellamy came to Twin Lights on April 25, 1893 as part of the Liberty Pole dedication ceremo...
06/09/2026

Francis Bellamy •1855–1931
Bellamy came to Twin Lights on April 25, 1893 as part of the Liberty Pole dedication ceremony. The author of the Pledge of Allegiance—he had written the Pledge the previous fall—led the young men of the Lyceum League as they recited what would become our national oath of loyalty.

On this day in 1945…Turkey Point Lighthouse keeper F***y May Salter is featured in a wire story. With World War II s...
06/08/2026

On this day in 1945…Turkey Point Lighthouse keeper F***y May Salter is featured in a wire story. With World War II still raging, she is the only female lighthouse keeper in the Coast Guard. She has served at the Chesapeake Bay light for 20 years.

On this day in 1884…The body of Colchester Reef Light keeper Capt. Forrest is discovered almost seven months after h...
06/07/2026

On this day in 1884…The body of Colchester Reef Light keeper Capt. Forrest is discovered almost seven months after he disappeared during a storm on Lake Erie.

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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