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Boston Light is 302 years old today

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.

1729 mezzotint engraving by William Burgis

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 70th person and the first woman to be keeper of Boston Light.

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June 2001 photo by Jeremy D’Entremont

You can read more here.

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U.S. Lighthouse Society News is produced by the U.S. Lighthouse Society to support lighthouse preservation, history, education and research. You can receive these posts via email if you click on the “SUBSCRIBE” button in the right-hand column. Please support this electronic newsletter by joining the U.S. Lighthouse Society if you are not already a member.

If you have items of interest to the lighthouse community and its supporters, please email them to Jeremy at nelights@gmail.com.

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