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The Story of the
Statue of Liberty
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The
Statue Of Liberty, perhaps the most famous national monument in the country,
once served as a lighthouse.
In 1877, Congress authorized the president to accept the statue from France and maintain it as a beacon.
It was dedicated on October 28th, 1886, and President Grover Cleveland turned the statue over to the Lighthouse Board a little over two weeks later.
On November 22nd, 1886, the statue, then known as Liberty Enlightening the World, was lighted. The flame of the torch Liberty holds had been cut away at the sides and glass inserted. The electricity for the light that beamed from the torch came from an electric plant specifically placed on Bedloe Island (now Liberty Island) for that purpose.
The light remained active for over fifteen years, and on March 1st, 1902, the board extinguished it and turned the station over to the War Department. Under local pressure, the War Department maintained a light in Liberty's torch for several years more.
The statue and the island came into the National Park System in 1937.
