Most of New York's lighthouses stand watch over rugged stretches of the Atlantic coast, but for sailors on their way back and forth from inland ports in the 19th century, the currents of the Hudson River could be equally treacherous. The Rondout Lighthouse has guided ships to safe harbor in the Kingston area for over a century, and our REALTORS® consider it to be one of the city's most treasured historic landmarks.
The Rondout Lighthouse stands watch over the mouth of Rondout Creek on the Hudson River, a major deepwater port during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It's the third lighthouse to mark that particular spot. The first, a wooden lighthouse built in 1837, was severely damaged in a storm and later replaced by a sturdier stone lighthouse in 1867. This second lighthouse was later abandoned and torn down – only its foundation remains today – and replaced by the Rondout Lighthouse in 1915.