5/10/15/50 History: Cedar Island Lighthouse fire of 1974

Fifty years ago, on June 5, 1974, a fire gutted the historic Cedar Island Lighthouse in the Town of East Hampton. The structure, built in 1868, had stood unoccupied for almost seven years, after Suffolk County purchased it from a private owner. (Fun fact 1: One of the previous owners was Phelan Beale, husband of Edith Beale, better known as “Big Edie” of Grey Gardens in East Hampton. Fun fact 2: After the blaze, firefighters reportedly found a storeroom filled with wooden legs — possibly the belongings of former lighthouse keeper Charles Mulford, a Civil War veteran with a peg leg known for buying up wooden legs, according to a history by the Friends of Cedar Island Lighthouse.)

Repairs to the lighthouse, located in Cedar Point County Park, are ongoing. But advocates continue to push forward: “There’s a very rich history which should be told,” architect Lee Skolnick, whose firm is leading the preservation efforts, said last year.