HomeMy WebLinkAboutBug Light
Lighthouse History by Amy Folk, Southold Town Historian
Long Beach Bar Light – Bug Light
Built: 1871 rebuilt: 1990
Just after the Civil War, a coalition of shipmasters, owners, and
citizens from Greenport, East Marion and Orient petitioned
Congress to build a lighthouse at the end of Long Beach Bar in
1
Peconic Bay. The submerged end of the long sand bar just off
the entrance of Peconic Bay had long been marked with a spar
buoy, which often was overwhelmed by strong tides. Every
winter it needed to be replaced because the floating ice often
2
uprooted the buoy and carried it off.
The entrance of Peconic Bay was a busy one. The petition
states that in 1866, 133 ships engaged in the fishing and
transportation business, 74 bunker boats and 50 smaller vessels
all passed by Long Beach Bar on their way in and out of
Peconic Bay. The submerged sand bar, particularly during
storms with the wind out of the east, often stranded passing
ships. Experienced pilots familiar with the area were not
immune to finding themselves suddenly beached as they guided
3
ships in and out of the harbor.
In 1868, the U.S. Treasury Department approved $16,000 to
build the lighthouse, and by December 1, 1871 the lamp was lit
4
at Long Beach Bar Light. The light was originally built on top
of an open skeleton framework. Locals in Orient Village
thought the new light looked like a crouching bug, and gave the
5
structure the affectionate name – Bug Light.
Soon the design flaw in the open framework became apparent.
During the particularly severe winter of 1881, Keeper George
Bug Light, From the author's collection. 2014.
W. Fenton, noted, “Ice packed under the house from the east
with flood tide. Ice broke three pilings and nearly all of the braces. The ice was two feet thick. Had to steady the lamp lenses by
6
hand to save them.” It took until 1926 for the Lighthouse Board to enclose the bottom of the light with concrete blocks. The new
enclosed space proved to be a benefit to the keepers. The new space allowed the installation of a coal fired steam heater, enclosed
7
cisterns for water and a protected storage area.
In 1948, the sandbar which the light had been constructed to warn of had shifted and extended past the light. The lighthouse no longer
deemed useful was decommissioned and stood vacant. The government put the light up for auction in 1955, and the Orient Point
8
Marine Historical Association, which later became East End Seaport and Marine Foundation, purchased the structure.
9
Disaster struck on July 4, 1963, when the lighthouse was set ablaze by arsonists. The local communities were devastated, that what
had long been a landmark in Peconic Bay was now gone. In 1990, East End Seaport and Marine Foundation raised funds and built an
10
exact replica of the original structure on the original foundation.
1th
Light-House Board, Letter from The Secretary of the Treasury (House of Representatives, 40 Congress 2d session, Ex. Doc No.171,
copy held at Oysterponds Historical Society, Orient, NY)
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Henry Keatts and George Farr, The Bell Tolls: Shipwrecks & Lighthouses vol.2 Eastern Long Island (Main Road books, Laurel, NY, 2002) 271.
6
“Long Beach Bar, NY,” http://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=738, Accessed July 2018.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
Keatts and Farr, 273.
10
Ibid, 275.
______________________________________________________________________________
Board, Light-House. Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury. Government Report, Washington, D.C.: United State House of
Representatives - copy at the Oysterponds Historical Society, Orient NY, 1868.
Keatts, Henry and Farr, George. The Bell Tolls: Shipwrecks & Lighthouses vol. 2 Eastern Long Island. Laurel, New York: Main Road
books, Inc. , 2002.
Lighthousefriends.com. Long Beach Bar, NY. 2001. http://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=738 (accessed July 18, 2018).