Arthur Adams in The Hudson River Guidebook describes the Danskammer:
"A low flat, rocky point jutting out into water 36 feet deep, it was long a menace to navigation. Formerly there was a projecting point. This was broken off when it was run into by the large steamer Cornell one misty morning in 1890. The present lighthouse was built on the fragments which fell into the water. It takes its name from the Dutch "teufel’s danskammer" or devil’s dancehall". This name was given it by Lt. Cowenhoven in 1663, who saw Indians doing ceremonial dances there by firelight."