Bonus: There’s an Adorable Lighthouse off City Island Possibly Named After the Devil

Lighthouse

Built in 1877, the Devil’s Stepping Stones lighthouse stands at one-and-a-half stories high and lies just south of City Island. It is currently managed by the United States Coast Guard and once served as an important landmark to help ships navigate across dangerous waters. The origins of its name can be traced back to a legend, which claims that the lighthouse was named after the Devil, who threw boulders into the Long Island Sound as stepping stones to escape from the Wescheswer Country Indians, who where trying to capture him. Quite possibly due to the story, Colonial maps of the area refer to the Long Island Sound as “Devil’s Belt” and the rocky reefs as “Devil’s Stepping Stones.”

Next check out The Top 10 Secrets of Hart IslandCity Island: The Closest Little Island in NYC You Didn’t Know About and The City Island Nautical Museum. Also step back in time with at the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum.