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2021 Lighthouse Challenge►
Tatham Lifesaving Station was the last stop for us on Day 1 during the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey. Every October the NJ Lighthouse Society runs the challenge in order to raise funds for the state’s historic lighthouses and maritime sites. In 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was mostly virtual. In 2021, it was back on. My friend and I decided to spend the full weekend, stopping at every site on the list and collecting the souvenir piece. In previous years, I’d only finished sections of the course.
Patty and I had lived through some tough times in 2021 and were ready for the brief respite afforded by Lighthouse Challenge weekend. I would also be reporting on our odyssey for my week-long takeover of the Jersey Collective. After checking into our hotel towards the end of Day 1, we decided to squeeze in one more challenge site. We drove up to Stone Harbor to visit the Tatham Lifesaving Station.
Tatham Lifesaving Station is unique in that it is both a historic Coast Guard outpost as well as an American Legion Post with a military museum on the second floor. The murals behind the open bay doors seemed new to me, but I must not have walked around to the front of the building on my previous visit.
The Life Saving Station dates back to the 1800s when shipwrecks were common and rescuers needed to be close to the shore to save the seamen. There are some displays on the grounds and on the first floor about the maritime history.
After the station was deactivated, the American Legion took over the building and has a display of artifacts from both World Wars on the second floor. We perused the exhibits before climbing the tower to see the view of Seven Mile Island. As we were leaving, the setting sun created rays over the lifeboat in the yard.
Lighthouse Challenge posts►
- Tinicum Light
- Finn’s Point
- Fort Mott
- East Point Light
- Cape May Point
- Cape May NWR
- Tatham
- Ocean City
- Absecon Lighthouse
- Tuckerton Seaport
- Barnegat Museum
- Barnegat Lighthouse
- Squan
- Sea Girt Lighthouse
- Navesink Twin Lights
- Sandy Hook Lighthouse
Location: 117th Street & 2nd Avenue, Stone Harbor, New Jersey
Designation: National Register of Historic Places
Date designated/established: October 8, 2008
Date of my visit: October 16, 2021
