In Montauk, Lighting the Way For Sailors

Almost from its very beginning, the 80-foot-high lighthouse at Montauk Point was, in the words of an early visitor, ``a landmark of the first importance.'' The lighthouse was born in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, when it became clear that safe coastal navigation was essential to the new nation's economic well-being. President George Washington agreed with Congress that a series of lighthouses along the Eastern Seabord was a priority.

By George DeWan