No. 10: Stony Point Fort Lighthouse

Watercolor on Linen / 14“ X 20”

At the start of a narrow and treacherous 15-mile section of the Huson River, known as the Hudson Highlands, the Half Moon reached the location where the Patriots built fortifications on both sides of the river, during the American War of Independence. They hoped to stop the British from commanding the river, and separating New York from the colonies to the north. Also located here was the King’s Ferry, an early Indian crossing and later to become a vital link across the river for the early colonies. Here was fought the final battle in the valley.

A small lighthouse was built on this historic site in 1826. It was the first of several lighthouses to be built on the Hudson, to facilitate the greatly increased river traffic which occurred with the advent of the steamboat in 1807.