Though the area was frequented, environmental conditions such as shifting sandbars and strong currents created reason for concern and in 1849, a life-saving station was built along the inlet.

With shipwrecks on the rise throughout America, the United States Life Saving Service was founded 22 years later and a larger Life-Saving Station replaced the existing one.

After being on Hereford Inlet for only one year, the United States Life Saving Service recognized the need for a lighthouse and included in its annual report that, "A small light, say a fourth order, is respectfully recommended for this place, as it would be of importance to the coal trade and to steamers navigating the Delaware Bay and River, and to mark the entrance to the inlet, where there is a good harbor of refuge for small coasting vessels.

According to Lighthouse Friends, "A coastguardsman … noticed thick smoke emanating from one of the upstairs windows, called the fire department, and then alerted the occupants of the imminent danger."

The Life Saving Station remains used by the New Jersey State Police today, however, the lighthouse was boarded up and left unused until 1982 when locals petitioned to take over the building.

At the time of the lighthouse's closure, it had been painted white with red trim and blue shutters; in 2003, it was restored to its historically accurate buff color.

The next keeper, Freeling "Captain" Hewitt, an American Civil War veteran, served that position for the longest time, 45 years.