“Four miles across the bay from Sag Harbor, guiding the mariner to the narrow entrance between Gardiners Island and Shelter Island, which leads into Shelter Island Sound, shines the white warning beam of Cedar Island Lighthouse,” began an article on “Life at Cedar Island Light” in a November 1905 edition of the East Hampton Star. The Star profiled Charles J. Mulford, the lightkeeper hired to serve at Cedar Island in 1897. A Civil War veteran with an artificial leg, Mulford lived in East Hampton as a farmer prior to his appointment. After arriving at Cedar Island, Mulford began noting visitors in a ledger, which is housed in the collection of the East Hampton Historical Society. Most of the lighthouse visitors in the late 19th and early 20th century traveled by catboat (when the vessel was indicated). However, during two especially cold winters in 1904 and 1905 when the bay froze, Mulford welcomed visitors who travelled over the ice. For example, on January 17, 1904, W.C. Bates skated four miles from Sag Harbor to visit.
With his wife, Anne, Charles stayed at Cedar Island until 1906 when he became the keeper of the Warwick Point Lighthouse in Rhode Island. After his departure, three more men served at Cedar Island until 1934 when the lighthouse was decommissioned. The Hurricane of 1938 left a massive amount of silt that connected Cedar Island with the mainland creating Cedar Point. Suffolk County purchased the area including the lighthouse in 1967 to make Cedar Point County Park. Unfortunately, the lighthouse was devastated by a fire in 1974, but Suffolk County is undertaking a multimillion-dollar restoration of the site, which will help future generations learn about the lightkeepers and the cultural and natural history of Cedar Island.