Newburyport Harbor Lighthouse

Year Built

1788

Cost

£266 ($340)

Type

Conical

Height

45 feet

Location

Northern Blvd., Newburyport

Automated Year

1951

First Lit

1898 (current structure)

Lens Type

Fourth order Fresnel Lens

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

White with black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Edgar Wallace (1945)

Description

Concrete tower with seperate kepper's quarters.

Brief History

•  At night and during reduced visibility, an alarm gun provided by the Merrimack Humane Society was sounded to call for assistance.
•  In 1795, Abner received a salary increase from £66 to $266 (about £80) annually, because the light was rather isolated and the soil unfit for tilling.
•  In 1898, the current forty-five-foot wooden conical tower replaced the old octagonal wooden tower.
•  Electricity came to Plum Island Lighthouse in 1927, replacing the kerosene that had been in use since 1877.
•  When the light was automated in 1951, there was no need for a keeper, and the keeper’s dwelling was subsequently used as the headquarters for the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.