The date July 27, 1920, is seldom mentioned in local history books or found on any historic sign, but on that date the battle of the Sunset Hotel would determine the fate of Long Beach Island and its beloved Old Barney, the Barnegat Lighthouse.

The attack came from the U.S. Lighthouse Bureau, whose head had determined that the lighthouse should be abandoned and allowed to topple into the water, which had eroded to within feet of its base.