Ipswich Range Lighthouse

Year Built

1838

Cost

$5,740

Type

Conical/conical/skeleton

Height

20 feet

Location

Ipswich

Automated Year

1932

First Lit

1939 (current skeleton tower)

Lens Type

Unknown

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

N/A

Color

White

Last Keeper - Date

Carl D. Hill (1922 – 1932)

Description

The skeletal tower is all that remains of the original lighthouse site.

Brief History

•  In 1838, two brick 29 foot towers were built on the area now known as Crane Beach.
•  1867 – At Ipswich, in June, the range light was moved 550 feet, to a point on the range of the main light and a new channel formed by the shifting of the bar.
•  By 1877 the rear tower was cracked beyond repair. It was replaced by a cast iron conical tower.
•  The front light was discontinued and the rear light was automated in 1932.
•  1939, The metal tower at Ipswich was barged to Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard to replace a lighthouse damaged in the 1938 hurricane.