Was it a ghostly glow or the faint light of the North Brother Island Light? The North Brother Island Light stands as a silent sentinel on its namesake island in the East River. Its history is a blend of ambition thwarted and eventual triumph. For years Edward Ackerson the landowner stubbornly refused to sell the necessary land. This delayed construction for years. It wasn’t until 1868 that the federal government finally acquired the land. The lighthouse a two-story dwelling with a mansard roof and integral tower was finally built. This design mirrored similar lighthouses built across the Northeast. The keeper’s dwelling was cozy. It had a kitchen pantry dining room sitting room and even an oil room. Upstairs were four bedrooms. The octagonal tower rose fifty feet above the river.
The North Brother Island Light first shone in November 1869. Initially a fixed white light its character changed in 1894. It became a flashing light five seconds on five seconds off. Its intensity increased in 1899. A fourth-order lens replaced the original fifth-order one. A brick oil house was added in 1901 showing the practical needs of the lighthouse keepers. In 1883 a fence was erected. This separated the lighthouse from its unsettling neighbor Riverside Hospital a facility that housed patients with infectious diseases.
One of the hospital’s most infamous residents was Typhoid Mary. This healthy carrier of typhoid fever lived on the island for over twenty years. Her story is chilling a testament to the realities of disease and isolation. The lighthouse keeper’s life wasn’t always easy. Joseph D Meade’s mysterious disappearance in 1903 remains a tragic unsolved mystery. His boat was found empty. His body was never recovered. The North Brother Island Light also played an unwitting role in a horrific maritime disaster. The General Slocum a passenger ship caught fire. It ended up running aground near the lighthouse. The resulting tragedy claimed over 1000 lives. Hospital staff aided in the rescue.
A poignant tale involves Kathleen Murray the daughter of a lighthouse keeper. She rescued John Zell a prisoner who had fallen into the river. She was living on the island in 1935 and heard his cries for help. In 1953 the light was moved to the fog bell tower. The lantern room and top of the original tower were removed. The lighthouse itself has since collapsed. Only a hint of its roof remains visible among the island’s overgrown vegetation. The fog bell however survives. It’s a poignant reminder of the North Brother Island Light at the New York City Police Department’s Harbor Unit serving as a memorial to fallen officers. The North Brother Island Light’s legacy endures not just as a beacon but as a testament to the island’s complex and often tragic history.