[1] The light was built to aid mariners entering the southern end of the New York Harbor.

Almost two years after the State of New York ratified the U.S. Constitution, the lighthouse was transferred to federal authority.

George Washington wrote to the Senate on April 5, 1790, "I have directed my private secretary to lay before you copies of three acts of the legislature of New York ... An act for vesting in the United States of America the light-house and the lands thereunto belonging at Sandy Hook".

Postal Service issued a 25 cent stamp featuring the Sandy Hook Lighthouse.

The view from the top includes the Atlantic Ocean, Sandy Hook Bay and the New York City skyline.