Sandy Neck Lighthouse
Year Built
1826
Cost
$2,911.25
Type
Cylindrical Stone Tower
Height
52 feet
Location
Barnstable
Automated Year
1931
First Lit
1857 (current structure)
Lens Type
Fifth order Fresnel lens (original) - LED (current)
Fog Signal
None
Year Deactivated
1931-2007
Color
White with black bands and lantern
Last Keeper - Date
William L. Anderson (at least 1926 – 1931)
Description
A brick tower and separate keeper's building.
Brief History
• The initial light was shown from a sixteen-foot-tall wooden tower rising from the center of a brick keeper’s dwelling.
• An 1850 inspection noted that the height of the lantern had been increased by eight to ten feet and a new system of seven lamps with fourteen-inch reflectors had been installed.
• In 1875, the ice became almost impassable from late January to the middle of March.
• In 1887, two iron hoops and six vertical staves were set in place around the center portion of the “badly cracked” tower to strengthen it and prevent further decay.
• The Sandy Neck Lighthouse Restoration Committee was formed in 2003 to restore the tower to its proper appearance with the assistance of the Cape Cod Chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation.