Uppie's Farmhand[pb_blockquote author=”Benjamin Franklin”]“Were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should on this occasion vow to build a chapel to some saint, but as I am not, if I were to vow at all, it should be to build a light-house.”[/pb_blockquote]
Known as the Maurice River Light until 1913, the East Point Light, is a lighthouse located in Heislerville, New Jersey on the Delaware Bay at the mouth of the Maurice River in Maurice River Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey. The lighthouse was built in 1849 and is the second oldest in New Jersey, with only the Sandy Hook Light, which was built in 1764, being older. The light was inactive from 1941 and was nearly destroyed by fire in 1971. The light was reinstated by the United States Coast Guard in 1980. Exterior restoration was completed in 1999.
The entire area feels lost in time, with small fishing camps dotting the shores, and country roads that wind through forgotten villages.
The Light is said to be critically endangered due to erosion. Although local governments routinely shore up the property’s perimeter, using 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) sand bags and bulldozers, the lighthouse is a mere 40 yards from the shore. During storms the surf is 10 yards from its front steps. A rally to save the lighthouse was held in the fall of 2018. Since then more sandbags have been added, paid for by the State of New Jersey and using the sandbags available the sandbag seawall was rebuilt by coordinated efforts of both the Maurice River Township and Cumberland County Road Departments. A geotube system is planned to be installed the summer of 2019 by the State of New Jersey to help hold the point and protect the lighthouse until more lasting measures can be taken.
Uppie's Farmhand
