Barnegat, Old Barney, Barendegat: What's In a Name?

Barnegat Light

Long Beach Island, New Jersey

November 25th, 2024

The day started with a trip to the Long Beach Island Holiday Market, as my mom had seen an advertisement for it somewhere online. While an hour and a half seems a long way to travel for a holiday market, my family and I have extremely fond memories of LBI since we once had a beach house there, and I am personally always looking for chances to visit. Especially in the off season. Plus, Barnegat Light and The Local Market and Kitchen had been on my list for a while, so I figured I could visit those too. A triple whammy. And so we went one Monday morning. 

We stopped at The Local Market and Kitchen before going over to the lighthouse, and, dare I say, had the best Peppermint Mocha of my entire life. The coffee was rich and delicious. The whipped cream was the kind to not melt away into the depths of the drink, but rather maintained its shape and integrity through the drinking process, which is what one (I) desire. Occasionally little bits of peppermint would crunch between my teeth, supporting peppermint authenticity, and the chocolate sauce was just the perfect topping. Adding to all of this, I was sitting outside next to a fire pit and also enjoying some Italian rainbow cookies. I cannot wait to go back next time I’m in LBI and try more of their specialty drinks. 

Since I sometimes act a fool, I did not think to research whether Barnegat Light would be open to climb on the day that I decided to visit. It wasn’t. It is only open to climb on weekends. This was a momentary disappointment, as I would have loved to add to my step count and also acquire another stamp for my lighthouse passport, but the day was just so beautiful that I couldn’t be upset. It was a late fall day on the coast, the sun was shining on the Barnegat Inlet, and it was cold enough to wear a sweater, but not enough for a heavy coat. Perfection. 

Barnegat Light, or “Old Barney,” was originally built in 1835. Winslow Lewis, who was a famous lighthouse contractor, supposedly designed the lamps and reflectors himself. The structural flaws of this original design, however, were noted by George Meade, an Army engineer who then went on to become a prominent general in the Union army. Meade’s claims were proven correct when a storm knocked over the tower in 1856. Construction on the new and improved lighthouse began in 1857, designed by Meade, and was commissioned in 1859. There is a bronze statue of Lt. George Meade just outside the entrance to the lighthouse, made by Boris Beai. 

The daymark, or distinct physical appearance, of Old Barney is a split between white paint on the bottom, and red paint on the top. There is also a restaurant called Daymark located close to the lighthouse site – I didn’t get the chance to try it, but if you get the chance to go, let me know how it is. There was once a first-order Fresnel lens (if you remember from my previous lighthouse post, the very first one used in the US was at Twin Lights! Thanks Matthew Perry.) with 1,027 glass prisms and glass mountings, but it has since been replaced by – at first – a gas-fired blinking lamp, and then a 250 watt bulb. When it was in commission, the light would flash every 10 seconds. It is important for a lighthouse to have both a physical uniqueness (the daymark) for mariners to see during the day, as well as a distinct lamp (flashing or fixed, different order lens, etc..) for identification at night. Some other features of Barnegat Light that might pique your interest include: walls made of brick, a focal plane 163 ft above sea level (distance from the center of the light source to sea level), and 217 steps to reach the top. 

As I marked this information into my journal, my mother, who had gone off on her own, beckoned me over to a statue that was several yards away from the central site. It was a statue dedicated to the lighthouse keepers of the world donated by Barnegat Lighthouse State Park in August 2019. Not too far away from the statue was a list of all the lighthouse keepers. What wasn’t there, however, were the lighthouse keeper’s quarters. The sea had swept over the structure, which apparently was large enough to house three families separately (they alternated work in eight hour shifts), in 1920. 

It is said that the name “Barnegat” is derived from the Dutch word “Barendegat,” which means “inlet of the breakers” and refers to the rough waters where the bay meets the sea. The origin of this name, however, has been contested by former Barnegat Chief of Police, Keith A. Germain, who contends that there is no documentation of that word (in full) existing in the Dutch language. He also claims that Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey (whose name is often spelled "May," see! Even in his own name!) of the Netherlands is responsible for the naming of Barnegat, not English navigator Henry Hudson. I do not have any valuable insight into this debate, unfortunately, but I do think that it is fascinating how much history there is in a name, and how history that is passed by word of mouth can morph. 

Old Barney is not just a tower that stands in isolation from the community. It is truly a part of it, and has contributed to shaping it throughout the years. At the Holiday Market, there were countless works of art depicting the lighthouse: framed photographs, postcards, paintings, keychains, pottery, scarves, kitchen utensils – if you wanted something in your life with a lighthouse theme, you could find it here. My mom even pointed out a QR Code while checking out (I bought several postcards), which led me to the link for the Lighthouse International Film Society festival happening in the summer. I already mentioned the restaurant Daymark, but there is another restaurant right next to the lighthouse called Kelly’s Old Barney Restaurant. Another one I’ll have to try. Barnegat Light is ingrained into the Long Beach Island community. It is as if Old Barney, a lighthouse that went out of commission in 1944, is the

heart of it all. As I sat on a bench next to my mom staring out towards the bay, watching a small fishing boat rock back and forth with the waves, in a place that was once a huge part of my life, I think I understood why.