Great Point Lighthouse

Year Built

1769 - new tower 1825

Cost

$7,500

Type

Cylindrical

Height

70 feet

Location

The northerly extremity of Nantucket

Automated Year

1955

First Lit

1986 (current tower replaced destroyed 1818 tower)

Lens Type

Third order Fresnel lens (original), VRB-25 system (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1984, rebuilt 1986

Color

White w/ black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Nicholas Norton (at least 1945)

Description

White tower with covered way and white framed dwelling, black lantern room, small white oil-house to southward of dwelling.

Brief History

•  Captain Paul Pinkham was the first keeper and paid a salary of $166.66 per year.
•  George Swain took over keeper’s duties and served until 1812, when Jonathan Coffin was made keeper.
•  In 1816 a fire of suspicious origin destroyed the original wooden tower.
•  Improvements finally came in 1857, when a third-order Fresnel lens replaced the lamps and reflectors.
•  Through the 1970s and ‘80s, erosion brought the tower closer and closer to the water.