Finns Point Rear Range Lighthouse was constructed in 1876 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The painted black, wrought iron tower stands 115 feet above the ground. In the center of the tower is a 119-step spiral staircase and an 11-step ladder that climb to the lantern and watch-room. Although the first keeper was hired on December 8, 1876, the daily journey up the stairs to light the lamp did not begin until April 2, 1877. Edward Dickinson was the first keeper to perform the vital task of lighting the lamp behind the twenty-four-inch, fourth-order range lens. Mr. Dickinson resided in the keeper’s dwelling with his wife during his thirty-year tenure as the Finns Point Rear Range Lighthouse keeper until he passed away on December 21, 1907. Mr. Dickinson was paid $500 per annum during his thirty years of service.
Mrs. Dickinson served as acting keeper on December 22, 1907, and remained so until January 22, 1908, when Charles W. Norton transferred from Finns Points Front Range Lighthouse. The last keeper of Finns Points Rear Range Lighthouse was Milton Duffield, who served from 1916 to June 10, 1933, when the Front Range and Rear Range lights were discontinued. The lights were re-established the following season, but automated beacons replaced the keeper-lit lamps. Except for one, Boston Light in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, all lighthouses in the United States are now automated.
Finns Point Rear Range Lighthouse will open, free for the public, alongside all other New Jersey lighthouses for the 2022 Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey on October 15 and October 16, 2022 from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Make the 130-stair journey with us to the lantern and watch-room to celebrate Finns Point Rear Range Lighthouse’s past keepers and all other keepers during “the Year of the Keeper”.