Exhibit lights the way to part of N.J.'s history
Crowd intrigued during opening at society's Milltown Road museum
BY MARY ANNE ROSS
Correspondent

PHOTOSBYSCOTT FRIEDMAN Guest speaker John Volpi discusses the variety of lighthouses in New Jersey during the opening of the "Shipwrecks and Lighthouses Along the New Jersey Coastline" exhibit at the East Brunswick Historical Society museum on Milltown Road.

EAST BRUNSWICK - The history of lighthouses and shipwrecks on New Jersey's shores brought a packed audience to the township's historical museum on a recent Sunday afternoon.

About 60 people showed up Feb. 10 to enjoy the opening of the latest exhibit from the East Brunswick Historical Society and to hear a lecture by Bill Volpe, former president of the New Jersey Lighthouse Society.

The New Jersey coastline was known as "the graveyard of the Atlantic," Volpe said, because there are believed to have been more than 4,000 shipwrecks off the local shore in the past 300 years. Lighthouses played an important role in saving lives and guiding vessels to safety during most of that time period.

The oldest lighthouse in the country is at Sandy Hook, Monmouth County. It was built by New York merchants who wanted to ensure the safety of their shipments.

A fresnel lens light used in lighthouses.

"Each lighthouse had its own individual signal," Volpe said. "The Sea Girt lighthouse flashed green every six seconds. The Cape May flashlight blinked every 15 seconds. Mariners knew where they were by the signature flashing of each light."

While the signal lights helped at night, the variety of styles and structures helped sailors identify where they were on the New Jersey coast in the daylight. Today, there are 23 lighthouses still standing in the state. Some are along the Delaware River and bay shores. Volpe used exact replicas laid out on a map of the state to demonstrate the locations and explain their history.

Barbara and Ted Kotter of East Brunswick were appreciative members of his audience during the opening of the local exhibit, titled "Shipwrecks and Lighthouses Along the New Jersey Coastline."

Last year, the Kotters participated in the "Lighthouse Challenge," sponsored by

the Lighthouse Society of New Jersey. The goal of the challenge is to visit 11 lighthouses in two days.

"It was fantastic," Barbara said. "At the first lighthouse they gave us a puzzle frame, and with each site we visited we received another piece of the puzzle."

The couple started at Sandy Hook and worked their way down through the southern-most parts of the state.

"We hung the finished puzzle in the living room," she said.

"That is just one of the activities the [New Jersey Lighthouse] Society sponsors," Volpi said. "Our mission is to educate the public and preserve and protect lighthouses."

For the exhibit, the East Brunswick Historical Society has put together a wide range of historical photos, prints and models of the state's lighthouses.

"All the ones we have here are open to the public," Society President Estelle Goldsmith said, pointing to one of the showcases. "People can go and visit any of these lighthouses."

There is also a collection on shipwrecks. This includes a variety of artifacts and articles describing the stories of ships that sank along the shore, a map that pinpoints the location, date and name of each vessel that was wrecked, and illustrations of historic rescue efforts.

John Cragan of South River enjoyed the display.

"I'm a nautical person," he said. "I spent four years in the Navy and I still like to surf-fish. This is really interesting."

The East Brunswick Historical Society, 78 Milltown Road, is open to the public between 2 and 4 p.m. on Sundays including March 11, April 15, May 13, Aug. 12 and Sept. 9.

For more information about the New Jersey Lighthouse Society, visit its Web site at www.njlhs.org.