Sankaty Head Light

Last updated
Sankaty Head Light
Sankaty Head Lighthouse by Don Ramey Logan.jpg
Sankaty Head Light
Sankaty Head Light
Location Siasconset, Massachusetts
Coordinates 41°17′03.78″N69°57′58.45″W / 41.2843833°N 69.9662361°W / 41.2843833; -69.9662361
Tower
FoundationBrick
ConstructionBrick / Granite
Automated1965
Height70 feet (21 m), 158 feet (48 m) from sea level
ShapeCylindrical
MarkingsWhite with red band midway and black lantern
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
First lit1850
Focal height48 m (157 ft)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
LensSecond order Fresnel lens (original)
DCB-224 (current)
Range24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi)
Characteristic White, flashing every 7.5 sec
Sankaty Head Light
Location Nantucket, Massachusetts
NRHP reference No. 87002028 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1987

The Sankaty Head Light is a lighthouse located on Nantucket island. It was built in 1850, was automated in 1965, and is still in operation. It is located at the easternmost point of the island, in the village of Siasconset. It was one of the first lighthouses in the United States to receive a Fresnel lens.

Contents

History

The shoals off the eastern coast of Nantucket had a long history as a hazard to navigation. The United States government decided in the 1840s that a prominent lighthouse should be erected to alert mariners to that hazard. Congress appropriated $12,000 for its construction in 1848, with additional funds totaling $8,000 in following years. The light went into service in February 1850. [2] The tower is 60 feet (18 m) high; its lower portion is constructed of brick, and its upper part is granite. The light's turning mechanism was powered by a weight-driven brass clockwork,

A brick house was built next to the tower at the time of its construction to house the light keeper's family. [2] In 1887 this house was torn down and a new structure was built. [3] Renovations to the tower at the time included installation of a new lantern section, adding some 10 feet (3.0 m) to its height.

In 1933 the light was electrified, and the mechanical works to turn it were taken out of service. [3] Its original lens was removed in 1950, and is now at the Nantucket Whaling Museum. [4] The light was fully automated in 1965. [2]

Sankaty Light at its current location. The former location is where the benches are Sankaty2010.JPG
Sankaty Light at its current location. The former location is where the benches are

In 1987, the lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Sankaty Head Light. The 'Sconset Trust acquired the lighthouse in 2007, and had it moved away from the eroding bluff (approximately 400 feet (120 m)) in October of that year. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Head Light</span> Historic lighthouse in the United States

Portland Head Light is a historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The light station sits on a head of land at the entrance of the primary shipping channel into Portland Harbor, which is within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. Completed in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in Maine. The light station is automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are maintained by the United States Coast Guard, while the former lighthouse keepers' house is a maritime museum within Fort Williams Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nobska Light</span> Lighthouse

Nobska Light, originally called Nobsque Light, also known as Nobska Point Light is a lighthouse located near the division between Buzzards Bay, Nantucket Sound, and Vineyard Sound in the settlement of Woods Hole, Massachusetts on the southwestern tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It overlooks Martha's Vineyard and Nonamesset Island. The light station was established in 1826, with the tower protruding above the keeper's house, and was replaced in 1876 by the current 42 foot tall iron tower. The light station was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Nobska Point Light Station in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goat Island Light</span> Lighthouse in Maine, US

Goat Island Light is a lighthouse located off Cape Porpoise near Kennebunkport in southern Maine. Goat Island Light was established in 1835 to guard the entrance to Cape Porpoise Harbor. The original station was upgraded in 1859 to the current brick tower with a fifth order Fresnel lens. Keeper's quarters were added to the island in 1860. The light station was automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1990 and is currently active. The keepers dwellings and tower are leased to the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust. Goat Island Light can be seen from shore in Cape Porpoise Harbor just off State Route 9 north of Kennebunkport or is viewable by boat. The island is currently closed to the public except by special arrangement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brant Point Light</span> Lighthouse

Brant Point Light is a lighthouse located on Nantucket Island. The station was established in 1746, automated in 1965, and is still in operation. The current tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 28, 1987; it has the distinction of being the tenth light on the point, in addition to several range lights. Four of the others burned or blew down, two were condemned, two were unsatisfactory, and the remaining one stands unused.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beavertail Lighthouse</span> United States historic place

Beavertail Lighthouse was built in 1856 and is the premier lighthouse in Rhode Island, marking the entrance to Narragansett Bay. The 64-foot (20 m) lighthouse lies on the southernmost point of Conanicut Island in the town of Jamestown, Rhode Island in Beavertail State Park, on a site where beacons have stood since the early 18th century. The light provides navigation for boats and ships entering Narragansett Bay in the East Passage between Conanicut Island and Newport, Rhode Island on Aquidneck Island. Other lighthouses are visible from Beavertail Lighthouse, such as Castle Hill Lighthouse, Point Judith Light, and Rose Island Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marblehead Light (Massachusetts)</span> Lighthouse

Marblehead Light is situated on Marblehead Neck in Essex County, Massachusetts. The current tower is a skeletal structure that replaced the original 1835 brick and wood tower in 1895. It is the only tower of its type in New England, the next similar tower is to be found at Coney Island, New York. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, on June 15, 1987 as number #87001479 under Lighthouses of Massachusetts Thematic Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highland Light</span> Lighthouse

The Highland Light is an active lighthouse on the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro, Massachusetts. The current tower was erected in 1857, replacing two earlier towers that had been built in 1797 and 1831. It is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manitou Island Light Station</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Manitou Island Light Station is a lighthouse located on Manitou Island, off the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cove Point Light</span> Lighthouse in Maryland, United States

The Cove Point Light is a lighthouse located on the west side of Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Charles Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Virginia, United States

Cape Charles Lighthouse is an octagonal cast iron skeleton tower lighthouse at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on Smith Island which was officially removed from service in 2019. It is the tallest lighthouse in Virginia and the second tallest in the United States. This particular tower is the third lighthouse at this location. The first lighthouse at Cape Charles was a 55-foot (17 m) masonry tower completed in 1828. It was quickly deemed inadequate for its important seacoast location due to its low height and poor visibility at sea. It was soon threatened by erosion so in 1864 it was replaced by a 150-foot (46 m) masonry tower built further inland. Located a little more than a mile southwest of the old tower and 600 feet from the shoreline, the impressive 150-foot-tall conical brick tower was similar in appearance to the 1857 Cape May Lighthouse, painted white and topped with a dark brown lantern room. In 1892, a twenty-five-foot red band was painted around the white tower's midsection, about sixty feet up from the base, to make it more visible during the day. By the 1890s, it too was threatened by beach erosion which jetties built to protect it failed to halt, and with the lighthouse now only 300 feet from the ocean and the shoreline eroding at a rate of 37 feet per year it was decided that a third lighthouse needed to be built three quarters of a mile inland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tawas Point Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Tawas Point Light is located in the Tawas Point State Park off Tawas Bay in Lake Huron in Baldwin Township in Northern Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Point Light</span> Lighthouse in Massachusetts, United States

Long Point Light Station is a historic lighthouse at the northeast tip of Long Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts. As a navigational aid, it marks the southwest edge of the entrance to Provincetown Harbor. The United States Coast Guard Light List describes it simply as a "white square tower". The light it casts is green, occulting every 4 seconds, and, at a focal height of 35.5 feet (10.8 m) above mean sea level, has a visible range of 8 nautical miles. When the weather affords low-visibility, one can hear the station's fog horn – sounding a single blast for two seconds, and repeating every 15 seconds – as it seems to call out for its nearly-identical closest neighbor, the Wood End Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gay Head Light</span> Lighthouse in Massachusetts, United States

Gay Head Light is a historic lighthouse located on Martha's Vineyard westernmost point off of Lighthouse Road in Aquinnah, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarpaulin Cove Light</span> Lighthouse

The Tarpaulin Cove Light is a historic lighthouse on Naushon Island, one of the Elizabeth Islands of southern Massachusetts. It is located in the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts. Built on the site of a light station first established privately in the 18th century, the current tower dates from 1891. A keeper's house built at the same time has not survived. The light is 78 feet (24 m) above Mean High Water, and its white light is visible for 9 nautical miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annisquam Harbor Light</span> Lighthouse

Annisquam Harbor Light Station is a historic lighthouse on Wigwam Point in the Annisquam neighborhood of Gloucester, Massachusetts. It can be viewed from nearby Wingaersheek Beach, Gloucester. It lies on the Annisquam River and is one of the four oldest lighthouses to surround the Gloucester peninsula as well as; Eastern Point Light, Ten Pound Island Light, and Thacher Island Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hospital Point Range Front Light</span> Lighthouse

Hospital Point Range Front Light is a historic lighthouse at the end of Bayview Avenue in Beverly, Massachusetts. It forms the front half of a range which guides vessels toward Salem Harbor. The tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Hospital Point Light Station on September 28, 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle au Haut Light</span> Lighthouse in Maine, US

Isle au Haut Light, also called Robinson Point Light, is a lighthouse located at Robinson Point in Isle au Haut, Maine. The lighthouse was established in 1907.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prospect Harbor Point Light</span> Lighthouse in Maine, US

Prospect Harbor Point Light is a lighthouse on Prospect Harbor Point, which divides Sand Cove from Inner Harbor at the head of Prospect Harbor on the southern shore of Gouldsboro, Maine. Also known as Prospect Harbor Light, it was first established in 1850. The present structure was built in 1891. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Prospect Harbor Light Station in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gull Rock Light Station</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Gull Rock Light Station is an active lighthouse located on Gull Rock, just west of Manitou Island, off the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. The light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, even as its condition deteriorated, resulting in its placement on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Island Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Middle Island Light is a lighthouse located on Middle Island in Lake Huron, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Alpena, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Sankaty Light History". New England Lighthouses. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  3. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Sankaty Head Light". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  4. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.