Cape May Lighthouse stands at the southern tip of the state of New Jersey, on the north side of the entrance to Delaware Bay. The first lighthouse on the site was built in 1823, and the second in 1847. The locations of the first two lighthouses are now underwater. The extant 157-foot brick lighthouse began service in 1859.
The property is owned by the State of New Jersey and leased to the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities, known as MAC. The organization raises funds for preservation and opens the lighthouse to the public. Our guest today, Ben Ridings, is the curator for Cape May MAC.
Also in this episode is a report from Judianne Point on news from lighthouses in southern New England. Judianne is the first vice president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and an award-winning volunteer for Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
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U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of 24 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s weekly podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org