The first lighthouse on the North American continent, popularly known as Boston Light, was first lighted on this date in 1716. The original lighthouse tower on Little Brewster Island in Outer Boston Harbor, a 50-foot stone tower, was blown up by British troops as they evacuated the harbor in the spring of 1776.

It was rebuilt in 1783, and with some changes including a raise in height of 15 feet in 1859, the 1783 still stands today.

The lighthouse holds many distinctions. It’s the oldest light station on the continent; it had the first fog signal in the American colonies (a cannon in 1719); and today it has the only official lighthouse keeper still employed by the United States government. In 2003, Sally Snowman became the 70^th person and the first woman to be keeper of Boston Light.

You can read more here.

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Candace Clifford

Candace was the US Lighthouse Society historian from 2016 until she passed away in August 2018.  For 30 years, her work involved lighthouse history.  She worked with the National Park Service and the Council of American Maritime Museums. She was a noted author and was considered the most knowledgable person on lighthouse information at the National Archives.  Books by Candace Clifford include: Women who Kept the Lights: a History of Thirty-eight Female Lighthouse Keepers ,  Mind the Light Katie, and Maine Lighthouses, Documentation of their Past.