Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse (1913 - 2013) - Paulsboro, NJ
N 39° 50.849 W 075° 14.385
18S E 479489 N 4410856
One hundred years is a terrifically perfect amount of time between pictures for the Tinicum Island Rear Range Light, the rear of a pair of range lights marking a section of the channel in the Delaware River south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Waymark Code: WMHWKG
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 08/20/2013
Views: 5
What an exceptionally odd place to find a light house...at a little league baseball field. The lighthouse is in terrific shape although there is a fence about it and so I could not get close. There are hours available to go up and tour the structure. The installation date, 1880, is displayed in white lettering above the door. When I arrived there were huge vultures or some other prehistoric monster attached to the skeletal frame. It was very spooky. Parking is available to the immediate left of this behemoth. I visited this site on Friday, August 16, 2013 @ 9:50 AM, EDT & @ an altitude of 35 feet, ASL. The front of the light faces the north, Due to the size of this beast, I had to stand far away, almost on the dirt infield of the little league field, about 100 feet away (a foot for every year) and faced southwest to match up my photo, revealing the front and proper left side in my matching photo. I retrieved my then photo from a collage page of various vintage pictures of the light throughout the yeas on the Tinicum Light Official Website.
I was surprised to find this light is still used for navigation on the Delaware River. It works with its sister, the Tinicum Front Range Light, known as the Billingsport Front Light, located on the Delaware River at the front of Fort Billings Park next to the Paulsboro Refinery.
U.S. Lighthouses Site
The federal government acquired 4.8 acres of land along the Delaware River on February 28, 1880 for establishing a set of range lights to guide ships up and down the river. The tower, constructed of iron, with a hexagonal skeletal framework rises 85 feet with a focal plane of 109 feet. The tower housed a fifth order Fresnel lens which displayed a fixed red light that was visible for 8.5 nautical miles, which first displayed on December 31, 1880. The front range lighthouse was a frame dwelling with an attached tower located about 5/8 of a mile southwest of the Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse. However, this would change over the years as the front range would need to be realigned with shipping channel changes.
The Tinicum Island Rear Range Lighthouse with its skeletal framework is somewhat unique in that it has a metal neoclassical pavilion at its base which was used as an oil room and it also has a unique wood-lined closet at the watchroom level. The wood curves to match the circular outer walls of the watchroom. These two unique features are what set this tower apart from the several other skeletal towers in the Delaware River area, such as Finn's Point Rear Range Lighthouse. SOURCE
The Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse Society conducts regular tours the third full weekend of each month April through October. Special tours are available with advance notice. The lighthouse is also available for weddings and other special occasions. A small donation is accepted to the support their efforts.
A complete, comprehensive history can be found HERE.