According to Ruth Glunt’s Lighthouses and Legends of the Hudson, there were eleven lighthouses along the river. The Stuyvesant Lighthouse, located 18 miles south of Albany, which was sometimes called Upper Kinderhook , was built in 1829 on the East Shore of the river. The original building must have been replaced in 1868 as that date remains on a large cornerstone. This lighthouse was torn down in 1933 and the foundation stones were moved for the base of the Stuyvesant Post Office.
The Coxsackie Lighthouse was built in 1830 on the West Shore of the river. The Lighthouse a brick and stone building, was originally on a separate island but dredging joined it to the lower part of Rattlesnake Island. The lighthouse was torn down in 1930.
The Four Mile Point Lighthouse was built in 1831 on the West shore but it was not a dwelling, only a round tower. Some called it Paddock’s Island or "Echo Hill".
The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse was built in 1874 in the middle of the river and closed in 1954.
The Saugerties Lighthouse was built in 1835 on the West Shore of the river. The original building was replaced in 1869 and it still stands today as a bed and breakfast for travelers.
The Kingston Lighthouse was built in 1867 on the West Shore near the Rondout Creek. It was abandoned in 1913 and torn down and a new one was built nearer the river.
The Esopus Meadows Lighthouse was built in 1839 and rebuilt in 1872 in the middle of the river. At one time the edge of the river was a meadow on which cows grazed but it has since been filled with water. The lighthouse was closed in 1965 and made automatic.
The Stony Point Lighthouse was built in 1826, the first lighthouse on the Hudson. It was not a dwelling but there was a keeper’s house which was torn down in 1938 and replaced with a stone house by the W.P.A. Today there is a picnic area and a museum.
The Rockland Lake Lighthouse was built in 1894 in the river near the West shore. An icebreaker or breakwater was constructed about he same time but it was always being washed away and rebuilt. The lighthouse was losed in 1923 abd the structure demolished.
The Tarrytown Lighthouse was built in 1881 bout 500 yards from Kingland Point on the East Shore of the river. It was closed in 1958 after the Tappen Zee bridge was built.
The Little Red Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge was built in 1899 but it never operated as a lighthouse. It was made famous by a book called the Little Red Lighhouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift and Lynd Ward.