Scituate Lighthouse

Year Built

1811

Cost

$4,000

Type

Octagonal

Height

25 feet

Location

Cedar Point, Scituate Harbor, Scituate

Automated Year

N/A

First Lit

1811

Lens Type

Pan lamp 1811, Fresnel lens 1855

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1860–1994

Color

White with green lantern room roof

Last Keeper - Date

John F. Cushman (1904 – 1924)

Description

The tower and keeper's house still standing and privately owned.

Brief History

•  In 1827, complaints from mariners led to the construction of a fifteen-foot-tall brick extension to the original granite tower and the installation of a new lantern room to increase visibility.
•  In 1841, during the tenure of Keeper Ebenezer Osborne, Scituate Lighthouse was refitted with large plate glass and fourteen-inch reflectors.
•  After the first Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse was destroyed by a storm on April 16, 1851, Scituate regained temporary importance and received a fourth-order Fresnel lens in 1855.
•  In 1916, the lighthouse was put up for sale, and in 1917, it was purchased by the town of Scituate for $4,000.
•  In 1968, a town meeting awarded Scituate Historical Society management of the lighthouse, and under the society’s stewardship, the tower was relighted in 1994 as a private navigational aid after 134 years of darkness