The Document

George Washington's Order to Build the Lighthouse Comes to Montauk

By David Lion Rattiner

In 1792, President George Washington signed a document that authorized the purchase of Turtle Hill and the construction of the Montauk Lighthouse. Construction of the Montauk Lighthouse began in 1796 and it still stands there today. The document that George Washington signed contracted Henry P. Dering and any other authorized person to survey a tract of land at Montauk Point to establish suitability for the Lighthouse and its subsequent sale to the United States Government.

This original document has withstood the test of time, and a collector from Bethesda, Maryland acquired it. It was passed on to him from his father's collection of historical documents. The collector then contacted a company called Quinn's Auction Galleries, which specializes in selling historical documents of this nature on behalf of collectors, and they held an auction. News of this auction reached the ears of the Montauk Historical Society, who knew right away that they must have it.

I headed down to the Montauk Lighthouse for the presentation party of the document at the Montauk Lighthouse. The party included members of the press and various members of the Montauk community who were all incredibly excited about the new document being added to the Montauk Lighthouse Museum. One such person in attendance was the President of the Montauk Historical Society, Joe Gaviola. I've known Joe for quite a while, having written about him in my early years working here at Dan's Papers as an intern for the Montauk Pioneer. Joe has won many shark tournaments in Montauk, but not just any shark tournaments - the ones where thousands of dollars are at stake. He also owns a popular market in town and a liquor store close to Gosman's in the heart of Montauk fishing territory. Needless to say, I was not surprised to hear the story of him travelling down south to attend the auction of the historical document.

"I drove down there and when I walked into the auction room and said my name and where I was from, some of the bidders recognized me and walked out before the auction even started. They did that because they knew there was no chance they were going to walk away as the winning bidder. There was absolutely no way I was not going to leave there empty handed. It is just too important to Montauk," he said.

The final bid for the document was $12,870 and the historical society was ear-to-ear smiles as they passed it around at the Lighthouse to those at the party. Holding the document in my own hands and viewing George Washington's signature was truly a thrilling experience. I sat with Montauk fireman, local merchant and friend Dick White who gave me some history on the gravity of the document. "Back then, there really was nothing here, and a lot of the locals were against the idea of creating a Lighthouse."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because when there were wrecks, Montaukers would go out there and scavenge from the ships and make a killing. So for them, they wanted Montauk Point to remain dangerous to ships. Everything was shipped then, the roads were in terrible condition and waterways were really the only way to move things. Also, they bought the land from the Indians, which is also fascinating. To the Indians, owning land was a concept they didn't understand. To them, saying that you owned land was like saying that you owned the air you breathe or the ocean. This document is a physical connection to that amazing part of our history in America."

What a scene it was at the Lighthouse to experience so much history in one place. I encourage you to check out this document and the complete collection of other documents signed by our first President of the United States, at the Montauk Lighthouse. The schedules there change, but they will be happy to talk to you if you call 631-668-2544 or visit www.montauklighthouse.com.

Who would have thought that so much history was right down the road?

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