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Plymouth Lighthouse, Massachusetts

Located on the tip of a seven mile long peninsula of sand dunes off the coast of Plymouth and Duxbury, Massachusetts the Plymouth Lighthouse is a place of historical firsts. It is the home of the first twin lighthouses built in America, the first female lighthouse keeper and the oldest wooden lighthouse tower in the United States.
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Old postcard view of the 1843 Keepers house and the twin towers
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Old postcard view of the 1843 Keepers house and the twin towers

Gurnet Light postcard001

GurnetLightpostcard001

  • To address the concerns of a large fishing fleet based in the towns of Plymouth, Kingston and Duxbury in 1768 the colonial Massachusetts legislature decided to establish a lighthouse station.  The place chosen for the station was the tip of a sandy bluff on a peninsula known as the “Gurnet” at the entrance to Plymouth Harbor.
  • An arrangement was made with the owners of the property, John and Hannah Thomas, to rent the lighthouse site for 5 shillings per year.  A wooden keeper’s house 20 feet long with lanterns located on each end was constructed and put into service in September 1768.  This was the first twin lighthouse station built in the American colonies.  Each of the lanterns held 2 lamps eighty-six feet above sea level.
  • **Powder Point Bridge from Duxbury to the Gurnet** As part of the rental arrangement, John Thomas was appointed the first Keeper of the Plymouth Lighthouse.  At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, John joined the Continental Army serving at Boston then leading a regiment in the attack on Québec.  John contracted smallpox during the campaign and died in June 1776 leaving Hannah alone with three small children.
  • **Entrance to the Gurnet** Upon John’s death Hannah took over as the Keeper of the Plymouth Lighthouse making her the first female lighthouse keeper in America.  Hannah continued in this position until 1786 when she hired Nathaniel Burgess to serve as the keeper.  In June 1790 the Massachusetts legislature ceded the Plymouth Light Station to the federal government.  Later that year John Thomas, son of the original light keeper, was appointed to succeed Nathaniel Burgess.
  • **Entrance to the lighthouse towerr** A fire broke out on July 2, 1801 which destroyed the lighthouse; however all of the oil reserves and equipment was saved.  Local merchants quickly built a temporary beacon which served until Congress appropriated funds in April 1802 to reimburse the merchants for their efforts and build a new lighthouse on the Gurnet. The land at the lighthouse reservation was purchased from the Thomas family for $120.  Two wooden 22 foot towers were built 30 feet apart in 1803.
  • **Bottom floor of the wooden lighthouse** Joseph Burgess, the son of the former keeper, was appointed the new keeper in October 1812.  Joseph would serve as Keeper of the Plymouth Light for the next 39 years.  A report on the condition of the nation’s lighthouses prepared in 1838 noted complaints about the twin lights at Plymouth blending together into one light at sea causing confusion for the ship captains.  A suggestion was made to construct lights one above the other to prevent this issue, but no action was taken.
  • **Second floor landing inside the tower** By the early 1840’s the wooden towers built in 1803 were so decayed there was concern they would fall down.  This quickly led to the rebuilding of the twin towers and a new keepers dwelling in 1843.
  • **View from the lantern showing the 1963 keepers dwelling and old lighthouse foundation (and my Jeep)** The new twin lights were 39 feet high octagonal wooden pyramidal towers placed 31 feet apart, connected by a covered walkway.  A pair of 6th Order Fresnel lenses was installed in the lanterns soon thereafter.
  • **The modern 190mm  optic currently in the lantern** Mariner’s complaints continued as the lights would still blend into a single light a short distance offshore.  An 1871 Light House Board report cited the 6th Order lenses as “too small” and subsequently they were replaced with a pair of 4th Order lenses.
  • Traffic passing the Plymouth Light increased in 1914 with the opening of the Cape Cod Canal.  Then in 1924 the northeast tower was taken down converting the station to a single light after 156 years as a twin light station.  The characteristic in the remaining tower was changed from a fixed light to a revolving beacon.
  • In 1963 the dilapidated 1843 keeper’s house was torn down and a new ranch style house was built for the Coast Guard personnel assigned to the station.  In March 1977 the Plymouth Light Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
  • During the early 1980’s the Coast Guard announced their plan to automate the station leading to public outcry.  The station was the only place on the Gurnet with electricity and served as a link to the outside world for local residents.  Nevertheless, the station was automated on October 1, 1986.  The 4th Order lens was removed and replaced with a modern optic.  The 4th Order revolving lens is now on display at the Hull Lifesaving Station museum.
  • For a brief period starting in 1989 the keeper’s house was leased to the Massachusetts chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society, until the group disbanded.  In 1998 the tower was moved 140 feet north to save it from the erosion eating away at the cliff.  Various plantings have been made along the cliff in an effort to slow the erosion.
  • In May 1999 a lease on the keeper’s house and tower was granted to a group now known as Project Gurnet and Bug Lights (www.buglight.org).  The group, headed by Dolly Bicknell daughter of Edgar Rowe Snow, has maintained the property and offers tours to the restricted Gurnet area as well as renting out stays in the keeper’s house.
  • Old postcard view of the 1843 Keepers house and the twin towers
  • Gurnet 8
  • Gurnet 1
  • Gurnet 1
  • Gurnet 1
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