Long Island Head Lighthouse

Year Built

1819

Cost

$11,500

Type

Cylindrical

Height

52 feet

Location

Long Island, Boston Harbor

Automated Year

1985

First Lit

1901 (current structure)

Lens Type

Three and one Half-Order Fresnel Lens (original) - Acrylic (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1982-1985

Color

White with black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Edwin Tarr (1906 – 1918)

Description

A cast iron lighthouse and wood keeper's house.

Brief History

•  The island was occupied by a state prison hospital, was part of Boston Island Nautical Recreational Area.
•  In October 1825, Keeper Lawrence, a War of 1812 veteran, passed away at the lighthouse from complications relating to injuries he sustained in the Battle of Fort Erie.
•  In 1844, Long Island Head became home to the first cast-iron lighthouse in the United States.
•  Edwin Tarr, the last keeper at Long Island Head, arrived at the light in 1906 and passed away on January 8, 1918, as he sat surveying the sea.
•  In a ceremony on Saturday, June 25, 2011, Rear Admiral Daniel A. Neptun, First Coast Guard District Commander for the U.S. Coast Guard, handed the key to Long Island Head Lighthouse to Bruce Jacobson, the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area’s park superintendent.