East Chop Lighthouse, Massachusetts

The busy entrance into Vineyard Haven Harbor on Martha’s Vineyard is marked by two points of land jutting into Vineyard Sound known as East Chop and West Chop. A lighthouse was built on the West Chop way back in 1817, however it would be another half century until a beacon was placed on the East Chop. A semaphore station was first built on East Chop in 1828 to announce the arrival of ships from around the world and the area became known as ‘Telegraph Hill’.

In the 1860’s a local mariner named Captain Silas Daggett lobbied for a lighthouse to be built on East Chop, but the Lighthouse Establishment thought the light on West Chop was sufficient to shipping needs. Not to be dissuaded, Daggett got funding from insurance companies and business interests and built a lighthouse on his own as a private aid to navigation in 1869. He exhibited a red light sixty feet above sea level and requested donations from shipping interests to keep the light lit.

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In the 1860’s a local mariner named Captain Silas Daggett lobbied for a lighthouse to be built on East Chop, but the Lighthouse Establishment thought the light on West Chop was sufficient to shipping needs. Not to be dissuaded, Daggett got funding from insurance companies and business interests and built a lighthouse on his own as a private aid to navigation in 1869. He exhibited a red light sixty feet above sea level and requested donations from shipping interests to keep the light lit.

100_8180 East Chop Light

100 8180 East Chop Light

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East Chop Lighthouse, Massachusetts