[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 136 (Tuesday, October 16, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN RECOGNITION OF THE TWIN LIGHTS 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 16, 2012

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize The Twin Lights 
Historical Site in Highlands, New Jersey on the occasion of their 150th 
anniversary celebration. The current structure, built in 1862, was 
commissioned by the United States Light House Board in the 1850s to 
provide the waters surrounding New York Harbor with a more permanent 
structure and to replace the existing structures which had fallen into 
disrepair.
  Prior to the 1820s, the only lighthouse in the area surrounding New 
York Harbor was the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. However, with the completion 
of the Erie Canal in 1825, Congress realized the need for an additional 
structure in the area of New York Harbor to ensure ships had an 
additional tool they could use to safely navigate the treacherous 
waters off Northern New Jersey. In 1828, two structures were 
constructed on the current site of the Twin Lights, but in the 1850s, 
the U.S. Light House Board realized there was a need for a more 
permanent structure in the location of Highlands, New Jersey. In 1862, 
the permanent structure as it stands was completed. The Twin Lights, 
named for the dual Fresnel lenses which were placed in two adjacent 
towers, began to emanate light from the hillside of Highlands, New 
Jersey.
  In addition to its significance as a navigation tool for ships in the 
New York Harbor, the site was also home to several important and 
historical moments in U.S. history. In 1893, the site was chosen for 
the first reading of the pledge of allegiance. In 1898, the south tower 
of Twin Lights was electrified, and became the only on-shore lighthouse 
in the U.S. to have its own generator. Guglielmo Marconi in 1899 tested 
his telegraph technology at the site, where it became evident that this 
new form of communication would revolutionize the way people 
communicated. By the 1930s and 1940s, the role of Twin Lights began to 
diminish, as new technologies began to emerge. However, during the 
1940s, Twin Lights was chosen by the U.S. government as the primary 
location to test radar technology, something which played a pivotal 
role in helping the U.S. and its allies obtain victory in World War II. 
In 1962, the Twin Lights Historic Site was transferred to the authority 
of the State of New Jersey, and is currently on the State and National 
Registry of Historic Places. Although the towers of Twin Lights were 
decommissioned in 1952, the light of the south tower still shines today 
as a navigational tool for private navigators.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in leading this body in celebration of 
the Twin Lights Historic Site's 150th anniversary celebration. The Twin 
Lights Historic Site has played a pivotal role in American and New 
Jersey history, and it is with great pleasure that I am able to join 
them in their celebration.

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