Old Field Point Light

{{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox lighthouse | image_name = 老田燈塔.jpg | location = Old Field, New York, Long Island north shore | coordinates = {{coord|40|58|37.2|N|73|07|06.9|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | yearbuilt = 1823 | yearlit = 1869 <small>(Current tower)</small> | automated = 1991 | yeardeactivated = 1933-1991 | foundation = Stone | construction = Wood tower on granite house | shape = Octagonal Tower. Black. Originally white with black lantern. | marking = | height = {{convert|74|ft}} from sea level | focallength = | lens = Fourth order Fresnel lens (original), "Modern Beacon" (current) | range = {{convert|14|nmi}} | characteristic = Alternating Red and Green 24 s. Red Flash 12, Green Flash 12 s. }} '''Old Field Point Light''' is a lighthouse within the village of Old Field, New York between the entrances to Port Jefferson Harbor and Stony Brook Harbor on the North Shore of Long Island.<ref name="uscg">{{cite uscgll|1|2007|}}</ref><ref name='ARLHS'>[https://wlol.arlhs.com/lighthouse/USA563.html ARLHS World List of Lights]</ref> The light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/weekly-list-2024-01-26.htm|title=WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 1/19/2024 THROUGH 1/26/2024|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2024-01-30}}</ref>

== Description == thumb|left|Old Field Point in 1930 The Old Field Point Light located on the northern tip of Old Field, dates back to 1823. It was built by the United States government for $2,500. The rest of the lighthouse was finished in 1824 for an additional $1,500.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Old Field History – Old Field, NY|url=https://oldfieldny.org/about/old-field-history/|access-date=2021-08-18|language=en}}</ref>

The first light came from nine whale oil lamps and was magnified by a large glass reflector.<ref name=":0" />

In 1868, a new lighthouse was built, with kerosene lamps. In 1933, an automatic revolving light was installed. When the lighthouse was in use, the caretaker used the Old Field village hall as a home.<ref name=":0" />

The U.S. government gave it back to Old Field in 1935, with the proviso that the government can take it back in case of a national emergency. It was taken back during World War II by the U.S. Coast Guard, but after the war they gave it back to the Old Field community.<ref name=":0" /> The Old Field light shines on New York's Long Island Sound.<ref name=":0" />

The structure is of the same design as lighthouses at Sheffield Island in Norwalk, Connecticut; Morgan Point in Noank, Connecticut; Great Captain Island in Greenwich, Connecticut, Plum Island on Plum Island in New York; and Block Island North on Block Island in Rhode Island.<ref name=friends>[https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=782]"Great Captain Island, CT" page at LighthouseFriends.com Web site, accessed August 21, 2006</ref> thumb|245px|Old Field Point Light in 2015 thumb|247x247px|Old Field Point Light Panorama

==Cultural== The Archives Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History has a collection (#1055) of souvenir postcards of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online. These include postcards of Old Field Point Light <ref name="postcard">{{Cite web |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/lighthouses/object.cfm?id=71 |title=Smithsonian lighthouse postcards |access-date=2009-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311052045/http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/lighthouses/object.cfm?id=71 |archive-date=2010-03-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> with links to customized nautical charts provided by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Lighthouses completed in 1868 Category:Lighthouses in Suffolk County, New York Category:Long Island Sound Category:1868 establishments in New York (state) Category:Brookhaven, New York Category:National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, New York Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)