Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, or Maid of the Meadows, was originally constructed in 1839 on an island in the Hudson ceded to the US Government by the Town of Esopus, New York, for one dollar. The light cost $6000 to build and had five lamps with fourteen inch reflectors to warn vessels from running aground on the mud flats. The original structure was a replica of the Rondout II Lighthouse but was irreparably damaged by floods and ice in 1867. A new lighthouse was constructed by 1871.

The new foundation was made of 250 piles, forty feet long, driven into the river to a solid footing. The piles were cut off three feet below the water line and capped with timbers twelve inches square. Three inch pine planking was added to make a round pier forty-nine feet at the base and forty-six feet at the top. Granite rocks were piled around and the lighthouse keeper’s house was built above, complete with mansard roof. The light tower extended above with an octagonal deck fifty-three feet above mean low water. The dioptic fifth-order Fresnel lens provided a 270 degree arc of light that was visible for twelve nautical miles in clear weather. The interior of the structure was divided into seven rooms: kitchen, dining and sitting rooms on the first floor and bedrooms on the second.

The lighthouse had no electricity and was only accessible by boat, making it a lonely duty for the lightkeeper and family. They would be isolated for weeks some winters as ice accumulated around the base and prevented trips to shore. Family keepers operated the lighthouse until 1939 when the US Coast Guard acquired it. In 1965 the lights were automated and the old oil lamps were extinguished. With the light controlled from shore the lighthouse began to fall into ruinous condition. The structure began to lean and some areas are now unsafe for all but a small group to walk upon.