Fire Island Lighthouse Keeper’s Quarters now serves as the Visitor Center

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Fire Island Lighthouse Unit Home Page

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GENERAL INFORMATION

The Fire Island Lighthouse Visitor Center is housed in the Lightkeeper’s Quarters. This was built in the fall of 1858 shortly after the lighthouse itself was completed. The house served as the residence of the man and his assistants who were hired to keep the lighthouse running. Lightkeeper family members lived here as well. While there were a few female lightkeepers in the United States during the lighthouse period, nearly all of them were men. At Fire Island, there was never a female lightkeeper.

West side of the Fire Island Lighthouse Keeper’s Quarters, Fire Island National Seashore

OPERATING HOURS

The Fire Island Lighthouse Visitor Center is open daily from 10 AM to 4 PM. The lighthouse tower itself is open for climbing on weekends from 10 AM to 3:30 PM. It is also open during the week, but the schedule varies due to school group visitation. School groups have priority over the general public for lighthouse tower climbs. See the Fire Island Lighthouse web page here on National Park Planner for more information.

Times can always changes, so be sure to get the latest schedule on the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society’s Visit Fire Island Lighthouse web page. This organization owns and operates the lighthouse, not the National Park Service.

AMENITIES

• Two-floor lighthouse museum
• Ticket office for climbing the lighthouse
• Gift Shop
• Restrooms

Fire Island Lighthouse Visitor Center information desk, Fire Island National Seashore

LIGHTHOUSE MUSEUM

The Lightkeeper’s Quarters is home to the two-story Fire Island Lighthouse Museum. The bottom floor covers the lighthouse and its restoration, lighthouse technology, and the life of a lightkeeper. There is also some information about other lighthouses in the area. A couple of lighthouse models are on display, but the bulk of the exhibits are information panels with historical photos and illustrations, so expect to do a lot of reading on this floor.

First-floor exhibits in the Fire Island Lighthouse Museum housed in the Lightkeeper’s Quarters, Fire Island National Seashore

First-floor exhibits in the Fire Island Lighthouse Museum housed in the Lightkeeper’s Quarters, Fire Island National Seashore

The second floor of the museum has an exhibit on the U. S. Lifesaving Service, which was the precursor to the U. S. Coast Guard that formed in 1915. Before the days of high-powered motorboats, men who joined the Lifesaving Service trained and lived at Lifesaving Stations that dotted the coast, very similar to firemen today. When a ship in distress was spotted, the men waited until it drifted close enough to shore to mount a land-based rescue operation. There were seven lifesaving stations on Fire Island.

The Lifesaving Service exhibits include information about the most famous rescues by the Fire Island Lifesaving Service, a collection of lifesaving equipment, a 5-minute video about the Lifesaving Service, a few furniture items from local Lifesaving stations, and information on how lighthouses and a system of buoys made navigation along the coast a lot safer.

Exhibit in the Fire Island Lighthouse Museum featuring information about famous rescues by the Fire Island Lifesaving Service

Lifesaving Service equipment on display in the Fire Island Lighthouse Museum, Fire Island National Seashore

Exhibit in the Fire Island Lighthouse Museum about maritime navigational aids, Fire Island National Seashore

Of particular interest is a small cannon called a Lyle gun. This shot a rope out to a ship so that a zip line could be set up. A breeches buoy, which is essentially a life preserver with a pair of pants on it, was pulled out to the ship along the rope, and then, one by one, passengers slipped into the breeches buoy and “zipped-lined” it back to shore.

Lyle gun on display at the Fire Island Lighthouse Museum in the Lightkeeper’s Quarters

SCHEDULING YOUR TIME

The Fire Island Lighthouse Museum is rather extensive. For those really into lighthouses, it takes about an hour to read through all of the materials, watch the film, and take a look at the artifacts. For the typical tourist, allow fifteen minutes to browse through the museum.

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