Lake Lenape Lighthouse – The “Singing Tower”

By Cheryl Ann Marino

New Jersey can boast being home to many unique, historic and well-known lighthouses, such as the Navesink Twin Lights, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, “Old Barney” of Barnegat Light, and the Cape May Lighthouse, to name just a few. All have provided a great navigational service to the seafaring mariners that ply the sometimes-treacherous waters along our state’s eastern seaboard. There’s one lesser-known lighthouse however, that can be found on a tranquil little lake far inland far from the breaking surf and hidden shoals of the Atlantic Ocean. This peculiar looking beacon is located in Lenape Park in Mays Landing (Hamilton Township), perhaps the last place you’d expect to find nautical warning signal of any kind. But the landmark tower was never actually a real lighthouse at all.

The Lake Lenape lighthouse was built back in 1939, when a family named Leiling owned a recreational resort there. The park billed itself as the “Ideal Picnic and Amusement Park of South Jersey,” and offered “canoeing, bathing, bathing houses, boating,” according to a postcard produced at the time. Plus, it proudly advertised that it had “One of the largest and finest roller-skating rinks” and “Enjoyable but safe amusement devices for young an old”! But what really made this particular little park unique was its “Tower of Music.” You see, rather than having giant reflector bulbs beaming out light from the top of the lighthouse, it had audio speakers that blasted hymns for the all the gathered park goers to hear.

To create this singing tower the Leilings commissioned an architect named Herman Dehn, who had to first come up with a way to build an island in the lake to put it on. He did so by loading 60-gallon drums with concrete and then sinking them to the bottom of the lake to form a solid foundation. The following winter, when the lake was frozen, Dehn piled dirt onto the ice above the submerged foundation. When the spring came and the ice thawed the soil sank into place, forming an island. Next, he set about construction of the 65-foot tall wooden tower, with the help of local volunteers and area children using hand tools.

By the 1960s, when a family named Young owned the park, neighbors began lodging complaints with local public officials that the music was disturbing them and demanded that it be stopped. The lighthouse has been silent ever since. The tower fell into disrepair and became a financial strain for the park’s owners. Though it seemed to require constant maintenance, the Youngs wanted to keep the nostalgia of the place and felt the lighthouse was a big part of that.

In 2007 Lenape Park was purchase by the Atlantic County Parks System. Since that time, it has offered a variety of activities and facilities for residents and visitors to enjoy. Renovations have been made to the park that includes new pavilions and a refurbished catering hall with seating for 100 with 16 eight-foot tables and 100 chairs. The lighthouse however, was apparently not on their list of things to restore.

Then a grassroots community group called “The Friends of the Lighthouse at Lenape Lake” stepped in and started soliciting donations to help refurbish the old lighthouse. According to the group’s web site, “Lake Lenape Park has been left to deteriorate since Atlantic County purchased the property in 2007. Despite budgeting funds for its repair, the County has left the structure untouched.” It goes on to say that in a meeting of the Mays Landing Merchant’s Association, a county executive was asked about the possibility of rehabilitating the lighthouse, to which he replied, “it would take $400,000 to $500,000 to fix it as it is structurally unsound”, and that “it is not financially responsible to spend that money for a non-functioning property.” The group surmised that the County “intends to eventually demolish the structure, actively or through neglect.” So, The Friends of the Lighthouse have taken on the mantel of refurbishing the historic landmark and restoring it to its original stature through the work of volunteers and financial donations to their non-profit organization.

These days the lighthouse, which consists of five floors connected by a spiral staircase, serves mainly as a storage building for the park’s boating and beach equipment. The island is more of an isthmus now, as a swath of sand connects it to the mainland. Though the tower appears pretty dilapidated and neglected up close, it is still a popular scenic backdrop for couples having their wedding photos taken. Seems there’s always been a kind of romantic mystique connected with lighthouses, and apparently this one is no exception…even though no light ever shone from it, and the music that it once played is heard no more.

Current Lighthouse photos by Cheryl Ann Marino

The preceding article is an excerpt from issue #52 of Weird NJ magazine, “Your Travel Guide to New Jersey’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets,” which is available on newsstands throughout the state and on the web at www.WeirdNJ.com. All contents ©Weird NJ and may not be reproduced by any means without permission.

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