The Light at Montauk Point
Copyright, All Rights Reserved,
Barry W. Hollritt, 2003

The Indian name for Turtle Hill, upon which the Montauk Point Lighthouse stands. is "Womponamon," an Algonquan word meaning "to the east". The proud Montauk tribe gave their name to the region and ruled the surrounding tribes. Their sachems called councils by lighting fires on Womponamon, and many of the tribesmen came to them in dugout canoes large enough to hold 18 paddles. During the American Revolution, eastern Long Island and Montauk Point were occupied by the British. After the Revolution it wasn't until 1792, that Congress appropriated $255.12 to buy land upon which a lighthouse was to be built to warn passing mariners of the perilous rocks at Montauk Point. Three years later, President George Washington signed the authorization for the construction of the light.  A contract was awarded to New York bricklayer, John McComb, Jr.  McComb's bid of S22,300 was the lowest offer of the four bids that were received.  McComb had already successfully built the lighthouse at Cape Henry,Virginia in 1791. In 1860 the lighthouse was rebuilt and the tower was increased in height to 108 feet. During World War II three American ships were sunk by Nazi submarines near Montauk Point.  Just as the famous lighthouse at Portland Head Maine inspired Longfellow to write some famous words, so too has the Montauk Lighthouse inspired a famous writer as well.  Six lines of the famous Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman: "I stand as on some mighty eagle's beak, Eastward the sea absorbing, viewing (nothing but sea and sky), The tossing waves, the foam, the ships in the distance, The wild unrest, the snowy. curling caps-that inbound urge and urge of waves, the shores forever . ."

I returned to Montauk after a long 15 year hiatus and spent hours along the coastline, viewing the lighthouse at different times of day.  This image was taken shortly after dawn on a humid August morning as the fog had begun to dissipate.  A small break in the mist caused the lighthouse to appear sharper than the area all around it and the light created a sort of painterly effect that I preserved only momentarily. 

Photos By Barry