Sea Girt Lighthouse

Sea Girt Lighthouse At A Glance...

• Sea Girt was the last live-in lighthouse built on the Atlantic Coast, with its 44 foot tower built right into the keeper's home.
• In 1921 it became the first land-based light station with a radio beacon navigation system.
• On the night the liner Morro Castle burned in 1934, its crew fixed their position from Sea Girt's beacon. Two of the ship's lifejackets are on display here.
• The tour ends in the lantern room of the tower, after you walk through the keeper's office, the parlor and the upstairs rooms.
• The first keeper, Major Abraham Wolf, was a Union spy in the Civil War who passed himself off as a Southerner among Confederate prisoners.
• Todays Sunrise: 7:03 am,   Sunset: 6:21 pm  
• New Jersey Shore Region Monmouth County

• Activities:

  • Walking

  Amenities:

  • Restrooms/Bathrooms
  • Parking - Street Parking Available
  • Lighthouse

  Attractions:

  • Lighthouse
  • Museum / Gallery

Contact / Location

A Brief History

The first keeper, Major Abraham Wolf, was in his early 70s at the end of his tour and was then the oldest lighthouse keeper on active duty in the U.S. Lighthouse Service. During the Civil War he had been a Union spy, passing himself off as a Southerner among Confederate prisoners. The third keeper was a woman, Harriet Yates, who served as acting keeper for two months after her husband Abram died on May 29, 1910.

In mid-1921 Sea Girt became the first land-based light station with a radio beacon navigation system. Transmitters on the Ambrose Channel and Fire Island lightships worked with it, so mariners could fix their position by triangulation in fog. The transmitter was shut down in 1928 and the two radio towers came down.

On September 8, 1934 the luxury liner Morro Castle caught fire in a storm three miles offshore. The crew had fixed their position from Sea Girt's beacon, and the light then guided passengers and crew toward shore. The lighthouse served as a first-aid station. Of the people on board, 137 died and more than 400 survived.

The Coast Guard took over America's lighthouses on July 1, 1939. In World War II the Fresnel lens came out, and as many as 15 Coast Guardsmen lived here, standing watch in the tower and patrolling the beach with guard dogs. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1945 with an automatic light on the roof.

In 1956 the federal government put it up for sale. The State of New Jersey was not interested, but the Borough of Sea Girt bought it for $11,000 and used it for more than two decades as a library and community and recreation center. By 1980 it was run down and closed. The all-volunteer Sea Girt Lighthouse Citizens Committee formed to save it, leased it from the Borough in 1981 for $1 a year and restored it. The lease now runs to 2056.

Things to See & Do

The building is filled with exhibits of rare photos and artifacts. A growing collection covers the U.S. Lighthouse Service and its keepers and their families, the Coast Guard era, the Morro Castle disaster and rescue, and Sea Girt of bygone days.

Photos of the families that lived here sit on the parlor mantel, and the keepers' gallery has portraits of the keepers and Coasties assigned to Sea Girt. Historic documents include the 1903 logbook of keeper Abram Yates, letters of commendation to the keepers and the 1939 executive order putting the Coast Guard in charge of all U.S. lighthouses.

You will also see an oil lamp used by keeper William Lake before the lighthouse had electricity, a rare Fresnel lens similar to Sea Girt's original fourth order lens, and two Morro Castle lifejackets.

Special / Seasonal Events

Sea Girt is one of the stops on the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey, held the third weekend of October (October 17 and 18 in 2026). Visitors try to reach lighthouses, lifesaving stations and a museum in one weekend. Registration is $10 and there is no pre-registration: sign up at the first site you reach.

Other events include talks by authors and others on local history, a summer art show, and International Lighthouse Weekend in September, when amateur radio operators broadcast from Sea Girt and about 350 other lighthouses in 50 countries.

Hours / Season of Operation

Guided tours run Sundays from 2 pm to 4 pm, except holiday weekends, from mid-April through the Sunday before Thanksgiving. In 2026 that is April 12 through November 22.

Special tours for school groups and scouts can be arranged year-round by prior arrangement. Call 732-974-0514.

The Sea Girt Lighthouse Citizens Committee is an all-volunteer nonprofit that leases the building from the Borough of Sea Girt and runs the tours, exhibits and programs. Membership and donations pay for upkeep. You can write to the Committee at P.O. Box 83, Sea Girt, NJ 08750.

Sea Girt sits midway between Twin Lights to the north in Highlands and Barnegat Lighthouse to the south on Long Beach Island. All three are Lighthouse Challenge stops.

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