There have been many lights at Brant Point, dating to well before the American Revolution.

The history of range lights is a bit murky, and different sources give different dates.

[3] Correspondence from 1838 describes the original beacon as an 11-foot (3.4 m) tall building with a two oil lanterns hung in it;[4] in 1856 this was replaced with a pyramidal tower housing a 21-inch (53 cm) reflector lamp, as pictured.

[3] This structure was relocated many times, and in 1869 was positioned on Brant Point itself as the front light of the range; this proved unsatisfactory, and the light was moved back across the harbor the following year.

[5] Land was acquired around 1872 to relocate the light again and to provide for a keeper's house.