Newburyport Harbor Rear Range Light

Year Built

1873

Cost

$5,000

Type

Square Hourglass

Height

53 feet

Location

Newburyport

Automated Year

N/A

First Lit

1873

Lens Type

Original Lens: 6th order Fresnel

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1961

Color

White

Last Keeper - Date

Bernard W. Barrett (1908-?)

Description

The tower is topped by an eight-sided lens room, which is surrounded by an iron balcony and railing.

Brief History

•  By 1872 Congress had appropriated funds to establish publicly maintained range lights after one of the previous pair was destroyed in a storm.
•  When the range lights became active in 1873 local caretakers took responsibility for them. The job was later transferred to Plum Island lighthouse keepers.
•  The front light has always displayed a fixed red light, while the rear light was fixed green up until March 15, 1907, after which date it was fixed red.
•  In 1961 the range lights were decommissioned and the rear light became private property.
•  The lighthouse, along with its mate, the Newburyport Harbor Front Range Light, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.