Welcome to the Cedar Island Restoration Project website. Cedar Island Lighthouse is located within the Cedar Point County Park in East Hampton, New York. Its original purpose was to help whaling ships safely navigate to and from Sag Harbor. Today it is a daymark for sailboats and yachts arriving in the heart of the Hamptons.
Lighthouses are an important part of the nautical history and maritime tradition of Long Island. Twenty-two lighthouses were constructed from Hell Gate to Montauk Point. Most have been restored and some are in private hands.
The Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1934 and purchased by Phelan Beale, the husband of Edith Beale of Grey Gardens fame. It passed through private ownership until it became part of Suffolk County’s park system in the late 1960’s. Today, the lighthouse is in serious disrepair and needs help in its restoration, having been gutted by a fire in 1974. It has been boarded up ever since.
Now the Long Island Chapter of United States Lighthouse Society has been authorized by Suffolk County parks to “Restore the Light” and has made the Cedar Island Lighthouse our primary goal. We invite to visit us, volunteer, or make a donation to help preserve this beautiful piece of Long Island history.
