Robbins Reef Light rising out of the mist in New York Bay

Island, fort & lighthouseStaten Island

Robbins Reef Light, the Lighthouse Kate Walker Kept

Robbins Reef Light is a small lighthouse on a reef beside the Main Channel of Upper New York Bay, just off Bayonne, New Jersey, close to Staten Island. Built in 1883, it is better known as “Kate’s Light” after its most famous keeper. It cannot be visited on a casual trip, but it is one of the best stories of the harbor and a rewarding detour from Staten Island.

When her husband died in 1886, Kate Walker stayed alone on a tiny tower in the middle of New York Bay and kept the lamp burning for more than thirty years, rowing her children to school on Staten Island.

WhereUpper New York Bay, on a reef off Bayonne, New Jersey, near Staten Island

TypeHarbor lighthouse (sparkplug type) and former light station

Best forMaritime history, women’s history, harbor photography from a distance

Getting thereOffshore on a reef; not open for casual visits and reachable only by boat, so check the current access rules and any museum programs before planning

The history of Robbins Reef Light and its keeper

The reef sits on a small ridge of sand that Dutch settlers called Robyn’s Rift. The word robyn means seal in Dutch, and seals sometimes rested here at low tide. It lies beside the Main Channel of Upper New York Bay, near the entrance to the Kill van Kull, the strait that connects the bay with Newark Bay and leads to one of the busiest channels of the Port of New York and New Jersey. A light was needed here long before the present building. The first was an octagonal granite tower built in 1839, and in 1883 it was replaced by the current tower, a sparkplug lighthouse that has the keepers’ quarters built into it.

The station is famous for its keeper. Katherine Walker, a German-born widow who had emigrated to the United States in 1882, came to Robbins Reef in the mid-1880s when her husband, Captain John Walker, was transferred there. She disliked it at first, because water surrounded the tower on every side and there was no garden. After Captain Walker died of pneumonia in 1886, his last words to her, “Mind the light, Kate,” became her guiding rule. She stayed, and in 1890, after several men had turned the job down, she was officially appointed keeper. The tower has been known ever since as Kate’s Light.

The work was constant. Each evening the lamp was lit after the sunset gun on Governors Island, and it flashed every six seconds; on a clear night it could be seen from about twelve miles away. In fog she started a siren engine in the basement that sounded every three seconds, and if the siren failed she climbed the tower and hammered a bell by hand. Her son Jacob helped as assistant keeper. She rowed her children to school on Staten Island, and she is credited with rescuing 50 or more sailors from shipwrecks. In 1919, aged 71, she retired as a federal law required, and Jacob took over. During her years the light moved from kerosene to oil vapor and finally to electricity.

The U.S. Coast Guard operated the station until the 2000s, and Herman Westgate is named as the last keeper before it was automated. In 2009 the light was offered for sale under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, and in 2011 stewardship passed to the Noble Maritime Collection, a maritime museum based at Sailors’ Snug Harbor on Staten Island. Museum volunteers have been restoring the interior, reaching the tower by launch. One source expected the work to be finished in the early 2020s, with tours and even an overnight stay in mind, but you should check what is actually offered today.

Little-known facts about Robbins Reef Light

The name goes back to New Netherland: the Dutch word for seal gave the reef its first name, Robyn’s Rift, because seals sometimes lay on it at low tide.
Kate Walker’s husband spoke the words “Mind the light, Kate” to her before he died, and they later gave the title to a 2006 book about thirty-three women lighthouse keepers.
The lamp only needed winding every five hours, but Walker wound it every three, according to the account she gave a newspaper in 1906.
In that 1906 interview she compared the housework in the three-story tower, with its five large rooms, to the work at a grand hotel, and said the light was harder to care for than a family of children.
Life at sea suited her better than the mainland: she said she felt uneasy from the moment she left the ferryboat, and that streetcars and automobiles bewildered her.
After retiring she lived in a small cottage with a garden on Staten Island, where she was often seen watching her old lighthouse.

Seeing Robbins Reef Light: access and nearby places

The lighthouse stands offshore on its own reef, and there is no public landing. It is not a place to visit on your own; only museum volunteers and authorized visitors reach it by boat.
The most realistic way to see it is from the water or from the shores around Upper New York Bay, where it appears as a small tower in the shipping channel. Remember that it is far from the shore, so binoculars or a zoom lens help.
The Noble Maritime Collection, which looks after the light, is based in Building D of Sailors’ Snug Harbor on Staten Island, about 3 km away. It also published a virtual tour of the light station, so check its current programs.
The Main Channel is busy with ships, so keep clear of the area if you are on a private boat and follow the instructions of the harbor authorities.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Robbins Reef Light is

Photos of Robbins Reef Light

The small Robbins Reef lighthouse in New York Bay at sunset

Robbins Reef Light Station standing on its reef in the harbor

Robbins Reef Lighthouse seen from the water

Robbins Reef Lighthouse in Upper New York Bay

Vertical panorama of the Robbins Reef Lighthouse

Where to stay near Robbins Reef Light

Hotels close by, with ratings and current availability.

Hotel Le Bleu

Park Slope / Gowanus · ★ 8.2 (1361) · 6.8 km away

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Artezen Hotel

Financial District · ★ 9.4 (1343) · 7.5 km away

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Ace Hotel Brooklyn

Downtown Brooklyn / Boerum Hill · ★ 9.4 (1378) · 7.7 km away

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Hotel photos: Expedia Group. Ratings are shown as published there. Availability and conditions change; check the booking page. Affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. All hotels by borough

Questions

Can you visit Robbins Reef Light?

Not casually. The lighthouse stands on a reef in New York Bay and has no public landing. Plans mentioned tours once the restoration was finished, so check the current rules with the Noble Maritime Collection.

Why is Robbins Reef Light called Kate’s Light?

It is named for Katherine “Kate” Walker, who kept the light for more than thirty years after her husband died in 1886, until she retired in 1919.

What does Robbins Reef mean?

The name comes from the Dutch word for seal, robyn. Dutch settlers called the sandy ridge Robyn’s Rift because seals rested on it at low tide.

Is Robbins Reef Light in New York or New Jersey?

The reef is off Bayonne, New Jersey, along the west side of the Main Channel of Upper New York Bay. It is, however, part of the New York harbor story and is looked after by a Staten Island museum.

Who looks after Robbins Reef Light today?

In 2011 the U.S. General Services Administration granted stewardship to the Noble Maritime Collection, a Staten Island maritime museum, whose volunteers have been restoring the tower.

What is a sparkplug lighthouse?

It is a type of lighthouse in which the tower and the keepers’ quarters are built as a single structure. Robbins Reef Light, built in 1883, is described this way.