Ten Pound Island Light

Ten Pound Island Light
The 1821 lighthouse
Map
LocationGloucester, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°36′6.7″N 70°39′56″W / 42.601861°N 70.66556°W / 42.601861; -70.66556
Tower
Constructed1821
FoundationBrick
ConstructionStone and cast iron
Automated1934
Height39 feet (12 m)
ShapeConical tower
MarkingsWhite with black lantern
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place Edit this on Wikidata
Fog signalOriginal: Bell
Now: Horn: 2 every 20 seconds
Light
First lit1881
Deactivated1956 - 1989
Focal height57 feet (17 m)
Lens5th order Fresnel lens (original), 9.8 inches (250 mm) lens (current)
Range5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi)
CharacteristicIsophase Red 6 seconds
Ten Pound Island Light
Built1881
MPSLighthouses of Massachusetts TR
NRHP reference No.88001179[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 4, 1988
Ten Pound Island Lighthouse during a beautiful morning with the City of Gloucester, MA in the distance.(Drone Photography by Barry Mullin)

The Ten Pound Island Light is a historic lighthouse in Gloucester Harbor in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It is located on Ten Pound Island, near the eastern end of the harbor. The tower, built in 1881, is a conical cast iron structure 30 feet (9.1 m) tall, replacing a stone tower first built on the site in 1821.[2][3][4] The main body is painted white, and the top is painted black.

The tower is the only surviving part of a more extensive light station, which included a keeper's house and an oil house. The island additionally hosted a federal fish hatchery and a Coast Guard air (seaplane) station; only ruins survive.[5]

The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Both Winslow Homer and Fitz Henry Lane painted the first tower.[3]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2012. p. 84.
  3. ^ a b "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  4. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Northern Massachusetts". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  5. ^ "NRHP nomination for Ten Pound Island Light". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-23.