This is the second in a series.

One hundred years ago this month, Barnegat Lighthouse faced the greatest threat to its existence since its lighting before the Civil War. The threat wasn’t from a nor’easter or even a hurricane; it was from politicians.

The majority of New Jerseyans saw the tower as a symbol of strength and a commitment to a seafaring tradition. A Washington, D.C.-based group of bureaucrats saw the lighthouse as a symbol of the past that had to be replaced with modern technology.

As the summer of 1923 drew to a close, the two sides prepared for the battle that would decide the fate of LBI’s “old…