The story of how Barnegat Lighthouse went from being a major beacon for East Coast mariners to New Jersey’s smallest state park is one of backroom politics complete with heroes and villains.

The two men who led the crusade to save “Old Barney” from falling into the sea during the early 1920s were U.S. Senator Joseph Frelinghuysen and shore Congressman Frank Appleby. Unfortunately, in the 1922 election, both men were voted out of office.

In a last-ditch attempt to save the lighthouse, Appleby told Congress, “I have been making inquiries and concluded that…