Cuttyhunk Light, Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts
CUTTYHUNK LIGHT
Location: ELIZABETH ISLANDS, BUZZARDS BAY, NEAR GOSNOLD, MASSACHUSETTS
Station Established: 1823
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1891
Operational? NO
Automated? N/A
Deactivated: 1947
Foundation Materials:
Construction Materials: STONE
Tower Shape: CONICAL
Markings/Pattern: WHITE WITH BLACK LANTERN
Relationship to Other Structure: SEPERATE
Original Lens: FIFTH ORDER FRESNEL LENS
Historical Information:
* In 1823 the first light at Cuttyhunk was built. It was a 25-feet stone tower with a separate keeper’s house. Twice the tower was encased in brick due to poor construction. A Fifth Order Fresnel lens was installed in 1857.
* In 1860 the poorly constructed tower was torn down. A second story was added to the Keeper’s Quarters and the lantern was placed on the roof of the structure.
* Finally 1891 a 45-feet stone tower was erected with a Keeper’s house. The Fifth Order lens was installed in the new tower.
* The Great Atlantic Hurricane of September 15, 1944 heavily damaged the light station. The Coast Guard tore down the structure and replaced it with a light on a skeletal tower. That light is still an active aid to navigation.
Researched and written by Melissa Buckler, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.