Dirt on Twin Lights and 200-year-old scam
HIGHLANDS – In 1828 the original Twin Lights — dual lighthouses illuminating the channel between the Navesink River and Sandy Hook Bay — went up in what is now Highlands.
By 1862 they were torn down and replaced by a new set of Twin Lights, which today is a national historic landmark.
But a question has bugged lighthouse aficionados and local historians: Why were the original lights deep-sixed after just three decades, during the crisis of the Civil War, no less? An archeological dig led by Monmouth University and Brookdale Community College that has excavated the southern light’s original base is shedding light on a possible reason.
The 25-foot-wide foundation, unearthed over the past four weeks by a team of students and professors from both colleges, reveals signs of lessthan-model craftsmanship.
“What we found when uncovering the foundation walls is there’s an internal wall and an external wall that are parallel, about five feet apart made of cut granite, and in between them in the void is a lot of junk peanut stone and rubble,” explained Tyler Bane, a history major from Middletown who just completed his junior year at Monmouth. “It appears as though contractors had built those two walls and then filled it in and cut corners to expedite the process, which was not in accordance with the contract we have for the original construction.”
Maeve Miller, a Monmouth anthropology major from Brielle, put it this way: “Inside of the two walls looks like backfill. Kind of shoddy and just cutting corners.”
Earlier in June, the team uncovered what appears to be an entranceway to the original lighthouse.
“Apparently they were having all sorts of structural problems,” Monmouth anthropology professor Richard Veit said. “But it’s very interesting in a period when the U.S. had bigger priorities that they rebuilt this beautiful lighthouse in its place.”
Fighting in the Civil War never reached this far north, but the lighthouses were essential in this busy shipping corridor.
“They’re trying to get people in there safely, but it was treacherous,” Veit said. “Sailing up Sandy Hook was not easy at all.”
Twin Lights has been a state historic site since 1962, and the state commissioned this archeological project. The Monmouth team had no problem locating the footprint of the old lighthouses thanks to maps and Veit’s experience with prior work at the site.
So far it’s unearthed some notable artifacts, including a soldier’s button from World War II (when the site was a radar station), an 1880 pin from a fraternal order, mother-of-pearl jewelry, and “pieces of medicine bottles and everyday things the lighthouse keeper would use,” Veit said.
The dig is expected to continue for another week or two. After that, it may become part of the historic site — a tribute of sorts to the Twin Lights’ humble beginnings.
“There’s talk of stabilizing it and leaving it open so visitors can see it,” Veit said.
“For me, that is the coolest thing,” Bane said, “that this will be used to help interpret the historic site and help enrich our understanding of the maritime history of New Jersey.”