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    • Maine Lighthouses
      • Baker Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Blue Hill Bay Light, Maine
      • Boon Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Browns Head Lighthouse, Vinalhaven, Maine
      • Burnt Coat Harbor Lighthouse, Swans Island, Maine
      • Burnt Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Cape Elizabeth Light, Maine
      • Cape Neddick (the Nubble) Light, Maine
      • Cuckolds Light, Maine
      • Curtis Island Light, Maine
      • Deer Island Thorofare Light, Maine
      • Doubling Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Dyce Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Eagle Island Light, Maine
      • Egg Rock Lighthouse, Maine
      • Fort Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Franklin Island Light, Maine
      • Goat Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Goose Rocks Lighthouse, Maine
      • Great Duck Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Grindle Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Halfway Rock Lighthouse, Maine
      • Hendricks Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Heron Neck Lighthouse, Maine
      • Indian Island Light, Maine
      • Kennebec River Range Lights, Maine
      • Libby Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Little River Lighthouse, Maine
      • Lubec Channel Lighthouse, Maine
      • Marshall Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Matinicus Rock Light, Maine
      • Monhegan Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Moose Peak Lighthouse, Maine
      • Mount Desert Rock Lighthouse, Maine
      • Narraguagus Island Light, Maine
      • Nash Island Light, Maine
      • Owls Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Perkins Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Petit Manan Lighthouse, Maine
      • Pond Island Light, Maine
      • Popham Beach Life Saving Station
      • Portland Breakwater Lighthouse, Maine
      • Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Prospect Harbor Lighthouse, Maine
      • Pumpkin Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Ram Island Ledge Light, Maine
      • Ram Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Robinson Point Lighthouse on Isle Au Haut, Maine
      • Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, Maine
      • Rockland Harbor Southwest Light, Maine
      • Saddleback Ledge Light, Maine
      • Seguin Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Southern Island Light, Maine
      • Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, Maine
      • Squirrel Point Lighthouse, Maine
      • Two Bush Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Maine
      • Whaleback Light, Maine
      • Whitehead Island Lighthouse, Maine
      • Winter Harbor Lighthouse, Maine
      • Wood Island Lighthouse, Maine
    • California Lighthouses
      • Alcatraz Light, California
      • Battery Point Lighthouse, California
      • Fort Point Lighthouse, California
      • New Point Loma Light, California
      • Old Point Loma Light, California
      • Pigeon Point Light, California
      • Point Arena Light, California
      • Point Bonita Light, California
      • Point Cabrillo Light, California
      • Point Fermin Light, California
      • Point Montara Lighthouse, California
      • Point Pinos Lighthouse, California
      • Point Reyes Lighthouse, California
      • Point Sur Light, California
      • Point Vicente Light, California
      • Santa Cruz Light, California
      • Table Bluff Lighthouse, California
      • Trinidad Head Memorial Light, California
    • Connecticut Lighthouses
      • Avery Point Lighthouse
      • Faulkners Island Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Fayerweather Island Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Five Mile Point Light, Connecticut
      • Great Captain Island Lighthouse
      • Latimer Reef Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Lynde Point Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Morgan Point Lighthouse, Connectitcut
      • Mystic Seaport Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • New London Harbor Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • New London Ledge Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Penfield Reef Lighthouse
      • Race Rock Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Sheffield Island Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Stamford Harbor Lighthouse
      • Stonington Harbor Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Stratford Point Lighthouse, Connecticut
      • Stratford Shoal Lighthouse
      • Tongue Point Lighthouse
    • Delaware Lighthouses
      • Harbor of Refuge Light, Delaware
      • Delaware Breakwater Lighthouse, Delaware
      • Fenwick Island Lighthouse
      • Liston Rear Range Light
      • Overfalls Lightship, Delaware
      • Mispillion Lighthouse, Delaware
      • Reedy Island Rear Range Light
      • Marcus Hook Rear Range Light
    • Florida Lighthouses
      • Amelia Island Lighthouse, Florida
      • American Shoal Lighthouse, Florida
      • Cape Canaveral Light, Florida
      • Cape Florida Lighthouse, Florida
      • Crooked River Lighthouse
      • Faro Blanco Light, Florida
      • Garden Key Lighthouse, Florida
      • Gasparilla Island Lights, Florida
      • Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse, Florida
      • Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
      • Key West Lighthouse, Florida
      • Loggerhead Key Lighthouse, Florida
      • Pensacola Lighthouse
      • Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, Florida
      • Sand Key Lighthouse, Florida
      • Sanibel Island Lighthouse, Florida
      • St. Augustine Lighthouse, Florida
      • St. John's River Lighthouse, Florida
      • St. Marks Lighthouse, Florida
      • Sombrero Key Lighthouse
    • Georgia Lighthouses
      • St. Simons Island Lighthouse, Georgia
      • Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia
    • Hawai'i Lighthouses
      • Diamond Head Lighthouse, O'ahu, Hawai'i
      • Kilauea Point Lighthouse, Kaua'i, Hawai'i
      • Lahaina Harbor Lighthouse, Mau'i, Hawai'i
      • Makapu'u Light, Oahu, Hawai'i
      • Moloka'i Lighthouse, Moloka'i, Hawai'i
    • Illinois Lighthouses
      • Grosse Point Light, Illinois
    • Indiana Lighthouses
      • Michigan City Light, Indiana
    • Louisiana Lighthouses
      • New Canal Lighthouse, Louisiana
    • Maryland Lighthouses
      • Baltimore Light, Maryland
      • Chesapeake Lightship, Maryland
      • Concord Point Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Cove Point Light, Maryland
      • Choptank River Lighthouse
      • Drum Point Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Fishing Battery Light, Maryland
      • Hooper Strait Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Piney Point Light, Maryland
      • Point Lookout Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Sandy Point Light, Maryland
      • Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, Maryland
      • Turkey Point Lighthouse, Maryland
    • Massachusetts Lighthouses
      • Annisquam Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Baker's Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Bass River Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Bird Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Brant Point Lighthouse, Nantucket
      • Butler Flats Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Boston Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Cape Poge Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Chatham Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Clark's Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Cleveland Ledge Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Deer Island Light, Massachusetts
      • Derby Wharf Light, Massachusetts
      • Dog Bar Breakwater Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Duxbury Pier Light, Massachusetts
      • East Chop Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Eastern Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Gay Head Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Graves Light, Massachusetts
      • Great Point Lighthouse, Nantucket, Massachusetts
      • Highland Lighthouse, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
      • Hospital Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Lewis Bay Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Marblehead Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Mayo's Beach Lighthouse
      • Minots Ledge Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Monomoy Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Nantucket Lightship, Massachusetts
      • Nauset Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Ned's Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Newburyport Harbor Range Lights, Massachusetts
      • Nobska Point Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Palmer Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Plum Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Plymouth Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Race Point Lighthouse, Cape Cod Massachusetts
      • Sandy Neck Lighthouse
      • Sankaty Head Lighthouse
      • Scituate Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Stage Harbor Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Straitsmouth Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Ten Pound Island Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Thacher Island Twin Lights, Massachusetts
      • Three Sisters of Nauset Lighthouses, Massachusetts
      • West Chop Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Wings Neck Lighthouse, Massachusetts
      • Winter Island Lighthouse
      • Brant Point Lighthouse, Nantucket MA
    • New Hampshire Lighthouses
      • Isles of Shoals Light, New Hampshire
      • Portsmouth Harbor Light, New Hampshire
    • New Jersey Lighthouses
      • Absecon Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Barnegat Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Brandywine Shoal Light, New Jersey
      • Cape May Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Chapel Hill Rear Range Light, New Jersey
      • Conover Beacon Front Range Light, New Jersey
      • East Point Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Finns Point Lighthouse
      • Fourteen Foot Bank Light, New Jersey
      • Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, North Wildwood, New Jersey
      • Miah Maull Shoal Light, New Jersey
      • Sandy Hook Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Sea Girt Lighthouse, New Jersey
      • Ship John Shoal Light, New Jersey
      • Twin Lights of Navesink, New Jersey
      • Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse, New Jersey
    • New York Lighthouses
      • Ambrose Lightship, New York
      • Big Sodus Light, New York
      • Blackswell Island Light, New York
      • Buffalo Main Lighthouse, New York
      • Cape Vincent Breakwater Lighthouse, New York
      • Clayton Memorial Lighthouse, New Yrok
      • Coney Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Crossover Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Dunkirk Light, New York
      • Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, New York
      • Execution Rocks Lighthouse, New York
      • Fire Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Horton Point Light, New York
      • Montauk Point Lighthouse, New York
      • Ogdensburg Harbor Lighthouse, New York
      • Old Field Point Lighthouse, New York
      • Rock Island Lighthouse, New York
      • Rondout Creek Lighthouse, New York
      • Saugerties Lighthouse, New York
      • Selkirk Lighthouse, New York
      • Sister Islands Lighthouse, New York
      • Staten Island Light, New York
      • Stepping Stones Lighthouse
      • Stony Point Lighthouse, New York
      • Sunken Rock Lighthouse, New York
      • Tarrytown Lighthouse, New York
      • Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, New York
    • North Carolina Lighthouses
      • Bodie Island Light, North Carolina
      • Ocracoke Light, North Carolina
      • Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina
    • Ohio Lighthouses
      • Fairport Harbor Light, Ohio
      • Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light, Ohio
      • Marblehead Light, Ohio
    • Oregon Lighthouses
      • Cape Meares Light, Oregon
      • Cleft of the Rock Light, Oregon
      • Coquille River Lighthouse, Oregon
      • Heceta Head Light, Oregon
      • Umpqua River Light, Oregon
      • Yaquina Bay Light, Oregon
      • Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Oregon
    • Pennsylvania Lighthouses
      • Presque Isle Lighthouse, Pennsylvania
      • Presque Isle North Pierhead Light, Pennsylvania
      • Turtle Rock Lighthouse
    • Rhode Island Lighthouses
      • Beavertail Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Bristol Ferry Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Castle Hill Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Conanicut Island Light, Rhode Island
      • Conimicut Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Dutch Island Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Goat Island Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Hog Island Shoal Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Ida Lewis Rock Light, Rhode Island
      • Nayatt Point Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • North Lighthouse, Block Island, Rhode Island
      • Plum Beach Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Point Judith Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Poplar Point Light, Rhode Island
      • Prudence Island Light, Rhode Island
      • Rose Island Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Southeast Lighthouse, Block Island, Rhode Island
      • Warwick Neck Lighthouse, Rhode Island
      • Watch Hill Lighthouse, Rhode Island
    • South Carolina Lighthouses
      • Morris Island Light, South Carolina
      • Hunting Island Light, South Carolina
    • Vermont Lighthouses
      • Colchester Reef Lighthouse, Vermont
      • Isle La Motte Lighthouse, Vermont
      • Windmill Point Lighthouse
    • Washington Lighthouses
      • Admiralty Head Lighthouse, Washington
      • Alki Point Lighthouse, Washington
      • Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, Washington
      • Grays Harbor Lighthouse, Washington
      • Lime Kiln Light, Washington
      • Mukilteo Lighthouse, Washington
      • North Head Lighthouse, Washington
      • West Point Lighthouse, Washington
    • Wisconsin Lighthouses
      • Wind Point Light, Wisconsin
      • North Point Lighthouse
    • New Brunswick Lighthouses
      • Gannet Rock Lighthouse, Grand Manan, New Brunswick
      • Machias Seal Island Lighthouse, New Brunswick
      • Swallowtail Lighthouse, Grand Manan
    • Nova Scotia Lighthouses
      • Cape Forchu Light, Nova Scotia
      • Georges Island Light, Nova Scotia
      • Peggys Cove Light, Nova Scotia
      • Seal Island Light, Nova Scotia
      • West Pubnico Light, Nova Scotia
    • Prince Edward Island Lighthouses
      • North Rustico Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
    • Quebèc Lighthouses
      • Pointe à la Renommée Light, Quebec
    • Lighthouse Trips
      • 2012-06-22 Penobscot Bay Cruise, Maine
      • 2011-09-10 Boothbay Lighthouse Cruise with NELL
      • 2011-09-18 Trip to Mount Desert Rock Light
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Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, Massachusetts

The story of the Edgartown Lighthouse on Martha’s Vineyard is a story about love. It is about the islanders’ love of their rich sea going heritage, love of their lighthouses and love for their children. If not for their devotion to the Edgartown Lighthouse it would not be there today welcoming mariners and summer visitors from all over the world.
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Edgartown Light001
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Edgartown Light001

EdgartownLight001

  • As the whaling industry boomed in the early 1800’s at Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Congress appropriated $5,500 in May 1828 to build a lighthouse at the entrance to Edgartown Harbor.
  • A plot of land was purchased for $80 and Winslow Lewis was awarded a contract to build a two-story wooden frame dwelling with a lantern in the center of the gabled roof for $4,000.  When completed the 10 oil lamps with 14 inch reflectors in the lantern displayed a fixed white light visible for 14 miles.
  • The lighthouse was constructed 1,800 feet from the beach front atop a wooden pile foundation requiring the lighthouse keeper to row out to the light.  A wooden elevated walkway to the light was constructed in 1830; however it required constant rebuilding as sections would be destroyed by storms over the years.
  • The walkway became known as the ‘Bridge of Sighs’ as whalers would walk the length with their girlfriends and wives before departing on long whaling voyages.
  • By 1840 the wooden piling foundation was rotten and decayed.  It was replaced with a stone pier foundation.
  • In 1847 a stone breakwater with a wooden walkway was built to prevent the harbor from silting over.
  • A 4th Order Fresnel lens replaced the lanterns oil lamps in 1856.
  • Although the old 1828 lighthouse was decried by its keepers to be drafty and leaky it was repaired several times over the years and continued to serve into the 20th century.
  • By 1938 the structure was in a dilapidated condition and when the Great Hurricane of 1938 hit in September it heavily damaged the lighthouse.
  • When the Coast Guard took over in 1939 it announced plans to replace the lighthouse with an automated skeleton tower.
  • Vineyard residents objected and began a letter writing campaign fueled by the editor of the ‘Vineyard Gazette’.
  • The Coast Guard dispatched Ralph Tinkham who served as the Chief of Engineering for the Lighthouse Service to Martha’s Vineyard to meet with the residents.
  • He brokered an agreement to have the 1874 cast iron tower of the Ipswich Rear Range Light dismantled and barged to Edgartown to serve as a replacement for the old 1828 lighthouse.
  • The 45 foot tower was reassembled on the site of the former light.  The tower had ladders installed rather than stairs to the lantern and did not use a brick lining in the interior.
  • An automatic red light flashing every 6 seconds was installed in the lantern.
  • In 1985 the tower was refurbished and leased to the Vineyard Environmental Research Institute (VERI).  The light was converted to solar power in 1990.
  • In 1994 VERI transferred its lease to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum (MVM).
  • In 2001 the residents established a Children’s Memorial at the light in memory of children who have passed away.  Their names are inscribed in cobblestones surrounding the base of the light.  In 2007 grant money was used to build an interior stairway, install windows and restore the tower.  The MVM has opened the lighthouse to the public and holds tours of the tower.
  • Turn of the century postcard view of the original Edgartown Lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard
  • Edgartown Light001
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