Race Point Lighthouse

Year Built

1816

Cost

$4,000

Type

Conical

Height

45 feet

Location

Cape Cod

Automated Year

1972

First Lit

1876 (current structure)

Lens Type

Fourth-order Fresnel lens (original), LED lens (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

White with black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Thomas F. Branco (1970s)

Description

The tower, keeper's house and the whistle house are still standing, available for overnight rental.

Brief History

•  During Lemuel Cook’s tenure as keeper, an inspection report from 1850 noted that ten lamps were still in use.
•  A new, forty-five-foot-tall, brick-lined, cast-iron lighthouse was built in 1876 for $2,800.
•  James W. Hinckley served as first assistant keeper at Race Point beginning in 1920.
•  Race Point Light was electrified in 1957, and in 1960, the duplex assistant keepers’ house was demolished, and the remaining one updated.
•  The lighthouse was leased to the New England Lighthouse Foundation (now American Lighthouse Foundation) in 1995.