This is a list of all lighthouses in the U.S. state of Massachusetts as identified by the United States Coast Guard. Enumeration of the lighthouses in this state is complicated by the number of multiple tower stations and replacement of older towers, with the Brant Point Light station having had nine towers, two of which survive. At present there are forty-seven active towers, of which eleven are privately maintained; thirteen are standing but inactive, seven have been replaced with skeleton towers, thirteen have been destroyed or removed, and one tower has been moved to another state. The oldest station, Boston Light, established in 1716, was the first lighthouse built in the colonies, and the current tower at that station, built in 1783, is the oldest survivor in the state and the second oldest in the nation, and was the last lighthouse automated in the United States. The last station established was at the Buzzards Bay Entrance Light in 1961 (since replaced by an automated light on a steel tripod), but in 1986 the 1818 Great Point Light was rebuilt and relit, making it the last tower constructed in the state. The tallest towers in the state are the two Cape Ann Light towers, but the highest focal plane is at the Hospital Point Range Rear Light, which is located in the steeple of the First Baptist Church of Beverly. Another lighthouse built in 1802, Point Hope Lighthouse, is said to be haunted by a malevolent spirit.
A number of inactivated Massachusetts lights have met with unusual fates. The Three Sisters of Nauset were sold off to separate private buyers before being purchased by the National Park Service and moved back near their original site. Range lights in Nantucket and Hyannis were incorporated into private dwellings, the former housing the Gilbreth family of Cheaper by the Dozen fame. The Point Gammon Light was converted into an observation tower for birdwatching.
If not otherwise noted, focal height and coordinates are taken from the United States Coast Guard Light List, while location and dates of activation, automation, and deactivation are taken from the United States Coast Guard Historical information site for lighthouses. Lighthouses in the "Former" section only include structures that no longer exist.
Existing lighthouses Traditional
NameImage Location Coordinates Year first lit Automated Status Current Lens Focal Height Annisquam Harbor Light Gloucester(Cape Ann) 1898 1974 Active 190mm 045 Bakers Island Light Salem 1821 1972 Active 190mm 111 Bird Island Light Marion(Buzzards Bay) 1819 1997(Relit) Active(Inactive: 1933-1997) ML-300 047 Borden Flats Light Fall River(Taunton River) 1881 1963 Active 250mm 047 Boston Light Boston(Little Brewster Island) 1783 1998 Active Second-order Fresnel 102 Brant Point Light (old) Nantucket 1856 Never Inactive None 046 Brant Point Light (new) Nantucket 1901 1965 Active Fifth-order Fresnel 026 Butler Flats Light New Bedford(Acushnet River) 1898 1978 Active Fifth-order Fresnel 025 Cape Ann Light Station(aka: Thacher Island Lights) Rockport(Thacher Island) 1861 1979(South Tower)1989(North Tower) Active VRB-25 166 Cape Poge Light Edgartown(Chappaquiddick Island) 1893 1943 Active 300mm 065 Chatham Light Chatham 1877 1982 Active DCB-224 080 Clarks Point Light New Bedford 1869 2001(Relit) Active(Inactive: 1898-2001) 250mm 068 Cleveland East Ledge Light Falmouth 1943 1978 Active 190mm 074 Derby Wharf Light Salem 1871 1917 Active(Inactive: 1977-1983) Optic 025 Duxbury Pier Light Duxbury(Plymouth Harbor) 1871 1961 Active Fourth-order Fresnel 035 East Chop Light Oak Bluffs 1878 1933 Active 300mm 079 Eastern Point Light Gloucester(Cape Ann) 1890 1985 Active DCB-24 057 Edgartown Harbor Light Edgartown 1881 1939 Active 250mm 045 Fort Pickering Light Salem(Winter Island) 1871 1983 Active(Inactive: 1969-1983) 028 Gay Head Light Aquinnah 1856 1956 Active DCB-224 170 Great Point Light Nantucket 1986 Always Active VRB-25 071 Highland Light Truro(North Truro) 1857 1987 Active LED 170 Hospital Point Range Front Light Beverly 1872 1947 Active Third-order Fresnel 070 Hospital Point Range Rear Light Beverly 1927 Active 183 Ipswich Rear Range Light Ipswich 1881 Never Removed None 042 Long Island Head Light Boston(Long Island) 1901 1929 Active(Inactive: 1982-1985) Acrylic 120 Long Point Light Provincetown(Long Point) 1875 1952 Active 300mm 036 Marblehead Light Marblehead 1895 1960 Active 300mm 130 Mayo Beach Light Wellfleet(Mayo Beach) 1881 Never Removed None Unknown Minot's Ledge Light Cohasset 1860 1947 Active 300mm 085 Monomoy Point Light Chatham(Monomoy Island) 1849 Never Inactive None 047 Nantucket Cliff Range Lights Nantucket 1889 Never Inactive None Unknown Nantucket Harbor Range Lights Nantucket(Brant Point) (Front Light) (Rear Light) 1908 Active 035 (Front Light) (Rear Light) Nauset Beach Light Eastham(Nauset Beach) 1923 1955 Active DCB-224 120 Ned Point Light Mattapoisett 1838 1923 Active(Inactive: 1951-1963) 250mm 041 Newburyport Harbor Front Range Light Newburyport 1873 1952 Inactive None 037 Newburyport Harbor Light Newburyport 1898 1951 Active Fourth-order Fresnel 050 Newburyport Harbor Rear Range Light Newburyport 1873 Inactive None 058 Nobska Light Woods Hole 1876 1985 Active Fourth-order Fresnel 087 Old Scituate Light Scituate(Scituate Harbor) 1811 1994(Relit) Active(Inactive: 1860-1994) Replica lantern 070 Palmer Island Light New Bedford 1849 1941 Active(Inactive: 1962-1998) Fifth-order Fresnel 034 Plymouth Light Plymouth 1843 1986 Active 100mm 102 Point Gammon Light Hyannis 1816 Never Inactive None 070 Race Point Light Provincetown 1876 1972 Active VRB-25 041 Sandy Neck Light Barnstable 1857 2007(Relit) Active(Inactive: 1931-2007) LED Sankaty Head Light Nantucket(Siasconset) 1850 1965 Active DCB-224 158 Stage Harbor Light Chatham 1880 Never Inactive None Unknown Straitsmouth Island Light Rockport 1896 1967 Active 250mm 046 Tarpaulin Cove Light Gosnold(Naushon Island) 1891 1941 Active 300mm 078 Ten Pound Island Light Gloucester 1881 1934 Active(Inactive: 1956-1989) 250mm 057 The Graves Light Boston(The Graves) 1905 1976 Active VRB-25 098 Three Sisters of Nauset Eastham 1892 Never Inactive None Unknown West Chop Light Tisbury 1891 1976 Active Fourth-order Fresnel 084 West Dennis Light West Dennis 1855 1989(Relit) Active(Inactive: 1914-1989) 300mm 044 Wing's Neck Light Pocasset 1889 Never Inactive None Unknown Wood End Light Provincetown(Long Point) 1872 1960 Active VRB-25 045
Modern The United States Coast Guard lists these as active lighthouses.
NameImage Location Coordinates Year first lit Status Current Lens Focal Height Buzzards Bay Entrance Light Buzzards Bay 1997 Active 067 Ipswich Light Ipswich 1939 Active 042
Former lighthouses
NameImage Location Coordinates Year first lit Automated Year deactivated Light Focal Height Annisquam Harbor Light Gloucester(Cape Ann) 1851 Never 1897 Fifth-order Fresnel lens 040 Bakers Island Light Salem 1815 Never 1926 Fourth-order Fresnel lens Billingsgate Island Light Wellfleet(Billingsgate Island) 1858 Never 1915(Destroyed) Fourth-order Fresnel lens 040 Bishop and Clerks Light Hyannis 1858 1923 1928(Demolished in 1952) Fourth-order Fresnel lens 059 Boston Light Boston(Little Brewster Island) 1716 Never 1776(Destroyed) Tallow candles 075 Broad Sound Channel Inner Range Lights Boston(Spectacle Island) (Front Light)(Rear Light) 1903 Never 1950(Removed) Fourth-order Fresnel lens 053 (Front)(Rear) Buzzards Bay Entrance Light Buzzards Bay 1961 1980 1997 101 Clarks Point Light New Bedford 1818 Never 1906 068 Cuttyhunk Light Gosnold(Cuttyhunk Island) 1891 Never 1947 Fifth-order Fresnel lens 063 Deer Island Light Boston(Deer Island) 1890 1960 1982(Destroyed in 1984) 053 Dumpling Rocks Light Buzzards Bay 1829 Never 1938(Destroyed) Fifth-order Fresnel lens Egg Rock Light Egg Rock(Near Nahant) 1856 1918 1922(Destroyed in 1927) Fifth-order Fresnel lens 090 Falmouth Inner Light Falmouth 025 Fairhaven Bridge Light Fairhaven 1888 Never 1891(Razed) Great Point Light Nantucket 1817 1955 1984(Destroyed) Third-order Fresnel lens 071 Hyannis Front Range Light Hyannis 1885 Never 1929(Removed) Fifth-order Fresnel lens 020 Hyannis Rear Range Light Hyannis 1849 Never 1929(Removed) Fifth-order Fresnel lens 043 Ipswich Front Range Light Ipswich 1867 Never 1932 025 Long Island Head Light Boston(Long Island) 1844 Never 1881 Fourth-order Fresnel lens 120 Long Point Light Provincetown(Long Point) 1827 Never 1873 Sixth-order Fresnel lens 036 Lovells Island Range Lights Boston(Lovells Island) (Front Light)(Rear Light) 1903 Never 1939 None 031 (Front Light)(Rear Light) Marblehead Light Marblehead 1835 Never 1895 Sixth-order Fresnel lens 130 Nantucket Beacon Nantucket 1807 c.1807 Never Lanterns 024 Race Point Light Provincetown 1816 Never 1876 Fourth-order Fresnel lens 025 Spectacle Island Range Lights Boston(Spectacle Island) (Front Light) (Rear Light) 1897 Never 1913 None 029 (Front Light) (Rear Light) Ten Pound Island Light Gloucester 1821 Never 1881 057 Twin Lights Chatham 1841 Never 1877 Fourth-order Fresnel lens 040
See also List of lighthouses in Maine Lighthouses in New Hampshire and Vermont List of lighthouses in Rhode Island List of lighthouses in Connecticut List of lighthouses in New York (state)
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