Preservationists Rush to Save Historic Hudson River Lighthouse

Lighthouses serve as brightly-lit towers that help guide ships through the dark. But they are disappearing from US coasts and waterways. And if a 150-year-old New York lighthouse isn't fixed soon, another piece of history will crumble into the water. 

The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s (NTHP) top 11 most endangered historic sites for 2024. Local boosters are trying to raise $10 million to save the Hudson River structure. If nothing is done, experts estimate the building will start tilting in five years. Then it will be too late to save it.       

“We need, basically, the 100-year fix,” Kristin Gamble told The Associated Press. She's president of the local historic society.

The Hudson, New York, lighthouse is one of seven beacons on a river that once had 12. And it's one of two that was built in the middle of the river. It was placed there to prevent ships from grounding on a sandbar. 

The lighthouse is still used. But it's now automated. Its last lightkeeper was Emil Brunner. He lived there with his family until his retirement in 1949. His daughter, Emily, walked on ice in winter and boated in spring to get to school. Her former home is now a museum.    

But its support structure is coming apart. Huge commercial boats with their big propellers are churning the water. That shifts large boulders away from the building they once reinforced. The rapid flow of water is also exposing 200 mud-encased wood pilings underneath. Those are starting to rot faster.

Said Gamble after the lighthouse was put on the NTHP list, “We are committed to preserving this historic gem.”   

Reflect: How would you feel if an important historic building in your town was at risk of being lost forever?

Photo of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse from Wikimedia Commons courtesy of MikeDNJ89.