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Managing Organization:
Hereford Inlet Lighthouse Commission
Telephone: 609-522-4520
Website: http://www.herefordlighthouse.org
Contact Address Information:
P.O. Box 499
North Wildwood
New Jersey, 08260, United States
Notes:
This lighthouse is considered the only example of a Swiss Gothic lighthouse on the east coast. After a severe storm in 1913 it was moved 150 feet inland. It was leased to he City of North Wildwood in 1982, and was relighted in 1986 after 22 years of darkness. Extensive restoration work was done in 1999. More work began in spring 2003 involving an overhaul of the exterior including doors, windows, hardware, siding, porches and stairways. It will also be repainted with a more historically accurate color scheme.
Tower Height: 50
Height of Focal Plane: 57
Characteristic and Range: Flashing white every 10 seconds.
Description of Tower: Square wooden tower on 1 1/2 story keeper's dwelling.
This light is operational
Date Established: 1874
Date Present Tower Built: 1874
Tower Moved?
1913
Date Deactivated: 1964-1986
Date Automated: 1986
Optics: 1874: Fourth order Fresnel lens (removed 1964, now in museum on site).
Current Use: Active aid to navigation, museum.
Open To Public? Yes
Museum?
The keeper's dwelling now houses maritime memorabilia and the lighthouse's 1874 Fresnel lens. There are also prize-winning paintings on exhibit. The landscaped herb gardens are also open to the public. The museum is open February to April, weekends 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., May to mid-October, daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and October to December, weekends 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free but donations are welcomed.
Directions:
Enter North Wildwood on CR 621 (Atlantic Avenue). Turn west (left) onto 26th Street, then right at Central Avenue and continue to the lighthouse, which is between 1st Street and Chestnut Avenue. From the Garden State Parkway, take Exit 6 to North Wildwood and look for signs, or turn left on 1st Avenue and follow to Central Avenue.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Keepers: John March [Marche ?] (1874, drowned near station); John Nickerson (1874); Freeling H. Hewitt (1874-1919); ? Hedges (?-1926); Laura Hedges (1926); Ferdinard Heinzman (1926-c. 1938).
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