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Minots Ledge Lighthouse, Massachusetts

The first wave swept tower built in the US, Minots Ledge Lighthouse is built on the Cohasset Rocks about a mile offshore in the Atlantic. For years many ships came to grief on the rocks on the southern approach to Boston and in 1847 Congress appropriated the monies for an ambitious plan to build a light on the ledge.
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A base camp was setup in Cohasset on Government Island to cut the granite blocks needed for the construction. Work progressed slowly at first as the men could only work on the rock during low tide.
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A base camp was setup in Cohasset on Government Island to cut the granite blocks needed for the construction. Work progressed slowly at first as the men could only work on the rock during low tide.

MinotsLedgeLight

  • The first light built on Minots Ledge was a screwpile type with iron legs drilled in the rock. It was first lit on January 1, 1850. The 70 foot tower proved to be no match for the fury of the Atlantic. The original keeper and assistants quit out of fear the tower was unsafe as it swayed in rough seas. In April 1851 a tremendous storm destroyed the light and killed the two assistant keepers on duty.
  • A lightship was placed at the rock from 1851 to 1860. Officials realized the folly of building a screwpile light in such an exposed location and determined to build a solid masonry tower similar to the Eddystone Light in Great Britain.
  • A base camp was setup in Cohasset on Government Island to cut the granite blocks needed for the construction. Work progressed slowly at first as the men could only work on the rock during low tide.
  • Finally, after years of labor the second Minots Ledge Lighthouse was completed and put into service in November of 1860. The 97 foot lighthouse consisted of 1,079 granite blocks dovetailed together and exhibited a light from a second order Fresnel lens. It was one of the most expensive lighthouses ever built in the US.
  • Life for the keepers was difficult as landing supplies was subject to the weather. They would sometimes be stranded for weeks at a time. Waves sometimes would wash over the tower. In 1894 the light received a new Fresnel lens with a 1-4-3 flash characteristic. Someone interpreted this to mean 'I love you' and Minots has since been known as the "I Love You Light". A woman from Cohasset next to me on a cruise had '1-4-3' engraved in her wedding band. This is a view of a replica lantern on Government Island made from blocks removed from the light during renovations. It contains a third order Fresnel lens which had replaced the 2nd order lens in 1964 when it was vandalized. The light was automated in 1947.
  • These rings found on Government Island in Cohasset were used by the masons to measure and cut the granite blocks for the tower. They were then moved by a team of oxen to a boat for transport to the Ledge.
  • The lighthouse station's fog bell which was saved and restored by a local fisherman. It is now on display at the replica lantern on Government Island.
  • The restored Keepers House which was built in 1858 is found on Government Island. It now hosts community events in Cohasset. It is maintained by the Cohasset Lightkeepers Corporation.
  • A view of the Minots Ledge Lighthouse Oil House on Government Island.
  • A monument was placed on Government Island in 2000 to honor the two keepers who lost their lives in the original Minots Ledge Lighthouse.
  • In 2009 the Minots Ledge Lighthouse was excessed by the Coast Guard under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. Since there were no non-profits which stepped forward for the expensive proposition of caring for the lighthouse, it was put up for auction in June 2014.  In October 2014 Minots Ledge Lighthouse was sold for a bid of $222,000 to the chairman of the Polaroid Corporation.  His plans for the lighthouse are unknown at this time.
  • Old postcard view of the Minots Ledge Light which shows a portion of the piles from the original lighthouse. Imagine climbing the ladder in the dead of winter to gain access to the light!
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