Cape Ann Light Station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cape Ann Light
Cape Ann Twin Lighthouses - South Tower (Essex County, Massachusetts).jpg
South Tower of the Cape Ann Twin Lighthouses, ca. 1869
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
LocationCape Ann, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°38′13″N 70°34′30″W / 42.63683°N 70.57498°W / 42.63683; -70.57498Coordinates: 42°38′13″N 70°34′30″W / 42.63683°N 70.57498°W / 42.63683; -70.57498
Constructed1771
FoundationGranite (surface rock)
ConstructionCut granite
Tower height124 feet (38 m)
Tower shapeConical
MarkingsNatural, unpainted granite
HeritageNRHP contributing property Edit this on Wikidata
First lit1861 (current structure)
Automated1979
Focal height166 feet (51 m)
Lens1st order Fresnel lens (original), VRB-25 (current)
Range17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi)
CharacteristicFl R 5s
Admiralty no.J0276
Fog signalHORN: 2 every 60s
ARLHS no.USA-105
USCG no.1-295[1][2][3]
[edit on Wikidata]

The Cape Ann Light Station on Thacher Island, off Cape Ann in Rockport, Massachusetts, is nationally significant as the last light station to be established under colonial rule and the first station in the United States to mark a navigational hazard rather than a harbor entrance.[4] The current pair of lighthouses were built in 1861. They were both equipped with first order Fresnel lenses, which stood approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) high and weighed several tons (tonnes).

After being decommissioned in the early 1980s, the lens from the south tower was moved to the U.S. Coast Guard Museum at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. In 2013 a joint effort by the Cape Ann Museum and the Thacher Island Association brought the lens back to Cape Ann. The first order lens is now on display at the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

When these lights were built, there was no way to produce a flashing light and, occasionally mariners would confuse one light for another with disastrous results. The only way to create a distinction was to build more than one light. There were two lights at Plymouth and three at Nauset Beach. Gradually as it became possible to create flashes with a revolving lens system, the multiple lights were discontinued, so that while the south light is an active, Coast Guard maintained light, the north tower was discontinued in 1932. It was relighted as a Private Aid to Navigation in 1989. Both lights are now owned by the Town of Rockport and managed by the Thacher Island Association.

The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Twin Lights Historic District – Cape Ann Light Station on October 7, 1971, reference number 71000355. In 2001 they became the 9th light station to be recognized as a National Historic Landmark.[4][1]

Cape Ann Light[]

Cape Ann Light is the southernmost of the two lighthouses that comprise the station.

Thacher Island North Light[]

Thacher Island North Light
Thacher Island twin lighthouses.jpg
The northern lighthouse is to the right in this 2009 photo.
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
LocationCape Ann, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°38′21″N 70°34′29″W / 42.63917°N 70.57478°W / 42.63917; -70.57478
Constructed1771
FoundationGranite (surface rock)
ConstructionCut granite
Tower height124 feet (38 m)
Tower shapeConical
MarkingsNatural, unpainted granite
HeritageNRHP contributing property Edit this on Wikidata
First lit1861 (current structure)
Automated1988
Deactivated1932-1988
Focal height162 feet (49 m)
Lens1st order Fresnel lens (original), 200 millimetres (7.9 in) (current)
CharacteristicF Y
Admiralty no.J0277 Edit this on Wikidata
Fog signalnone
ARLHS no.USA1027 Edit this on Wikidata
USCG no.1-305[2][3]
[edit on Wikidata]

Thacher Island North Light is the northernmost of the two lighthouses that comprise the station.

Cape Ann Light Station (Thacher Island Twin Lights)
Nearest cityRockport, Massachusetts
Area50 acres (20 ha)
Built1860
MPSLighthouses of Massachusetts TR (AD)
NRHP reference No.71000355[5]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 7, 1971
Designated NHLDJanuary 3, 2001
Thacher Island Lighthouses in 2009

Nomenclature[]

  • The south light's official name in the US Coast Guard Light List is Cape Ann Light, number 1-295.[3]
  • The north light's official name is Thacher Island North Light, number 1-305.
  • The National Historic Landmark listing name is Twin Lights Historic District – Cape Ann Light Station.
  • The lights are known locally as the Twin Lights or Thacher Island Lights.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Rowlett, Russ (2009-09-06). "Lighthouses of the United States: Northern Massachusetts". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-09-06. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 4.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Cape Ann Light Station". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  5. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
Retrieved from ""