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Reported phenomena, as catalogued
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Commissioned by George Washington in 1792 and completed in 1796, New York's oldest lighthouse is where historian Henry Osmers documented three separate encounters with a ghost named Abigail — a young woman who came ashore from an 1811 shipwreck and never left.
2000 Montauk Highway, Montauk, NY 11954
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
General admission $15; seniors $10; children under 12 $5; children under 41 inches free (no tower access). Advance purchase saves $2/ticket.
Access
Limited Access
Coastal headland; paved walkways to the lighthouse, but tower stairs are steep and narrow. Children under 41 inches may not climb the tower.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1796 · Authorized by Congress 1792; personally approved by George Washington · Completed November 5, 1796; first public works project of the United States · New York's oldest lighthouse · National Historic Landmark · Transferred to Montauk Historical Society 1996
The Montauk Point Lighthouse occupies the easternmost tip of Long Island, at the edge of Montauk Point State Park. Congress appropriated $22,300 for its construction on April 12, 1792, during President George Washington's first term. Washington personally reviewed and approved the design. Construction began June 7, 1796 and was completed November 5, 1796 — the lighthouse is sometimes described as the first public works project of the United States. Keeper Jacob Hand lit the lamps in early April 1797.
The 110-foot octagonal tower is constructed of the same Connecticut brownstone used in many colonial New England buildings. The original lens was replaced in 1903 with a third-order Fresnel lens. Over nearly two centuries of operation, the lighthouse witnessed dozens of shipwrecks on the surrounding shoals, including numerous vessels carrying immigrant passengers and cargo. These wrecks account for a documented record of deaths in the waters around Montauk Point.
The U.S. Coast Guard automated the lighthouse on February 3, 1987, ending the era of on-site keepers. The Montauk Historical Society has operated the facility as a museum and interpretive site since May of that year. In 1996, President Clinton transferred formal ownership to the Society under a National Historic Landmark preservation agreement. The lighthouse was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012.
Sources
The haunting reports at Montauk Point Lighthouse center on a figure named Abigail. The Gothic Horror Stories account — drawing on lighthouse historian Henry Osmers — describes her as a young passenger whose ship wrecked off Montauk Point in approximately 1811 (though Osmers himself placed the wreck in the late 1800s; the date discrepancy is unresolved). She survived the wreck and was carried to the beach below the lighthouse, but died from her injuries before help could arrive. History has not preserved her last name.
Osmers, who served as the lighthouse historian and documented its records extensively, described three separate personal encounters with Abigail. The most specific involved her tugging on his shirt repeatedly. He reported his accounts to Newsday. Other phenomena documented by staff include furniture that had been moved overnight, pictures found swinging on walls, and unexplained sounds ascending the spiral staircase. Multiple staff members have reported a presence on the upper levels of the tower.
The lighthouse's role in witnessing actual maritime death — dozens of ships wrecked on the surrounding shoals over its operating lifetime — provides historical grounding for the general haunting reputation, even if specific incidents cannot be documented for most.
Notable Entities
Visitors can climb the 137-step spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse for views of the Atlantic and Long Island Sound. The museum at the base covers the lighthouse's history from George Washington's commission through modern Coast Guard automation.
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