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Annisquam Harbor Light

Location	Wigwam Pt., Gloucester, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°39′42.781″N 70°40′53.44″W / 42.66188361°N 70.6815111°W / 42.66188361; -70.6815111
Tower
Constructed	1801
Foundation	Stone
Construction	Brick
Automated	1974
Height	45-feet
Shape	Cylindrical
Markings	White with black lantern
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Fog signal	19th century: Bell 1931: Horn, 2 every 60s
Light
First lit	1898
Focal height	45 feet (14 m)
Lens	5th order Fresnel lens (original), 7.5 inches (190 mm) (current)
Range	W 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi), R 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 7.5s with Red sector
Annisquam Harbor Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	1.3 acres (0.53 ha)
Built	1801
MPS	Lighthouses of Massachusetts TR
NRHP reference No.	87001526
Added to NRHP	June 15, 1987

Annisquam Harbor Light Station is a historic lighthouse located on Wigwam Point in the Annisquam neighborhood of Gloucester, Massachusetts. It can be viewed from nearby Wingaersheek Beach, Gloucester. It lies on the Annisquam River and is one of the four oldest lighthouses to surrounding the Gloucester peninsula, along with Eastern Point Light, Ten Pound Island Light, and Thacher Island Light.

History

The first light station, a 40-foot (12 m) wooden tower, was established in 1801 after Congress allocated $2000 in April for its completion. The original building was 32 feet (9.8 m) tall, made of wood with a light resting 40 feet above the water. The building fell into disrepair and, in 1851, was replaced by an octagonal wooden tower of the same height. The original lighthouse keeper's house was repaired and, with alterations, has remained to this day; its floor plan resembles those at Race Point Light and Straitsmouth Island Light. It is a two-story, gabled roofed, wood-framed building. In 1869, a covered walkway was built between the house and the tower.

In 1897, the current brick lighthouse was built on the same foundation as the previous two constructions. Some time after 1900, the covered walkway, added in 1867, to the keeper's house was replaced by an uncovered wooden footbridge.

In 1931, a foghorn was installed, but until 1949, it was used only from October 15 to May 15 to spare summer residents the noise., but was activated in the summer of 1949 only during day hours. The lighthouse's fourth-order Fresnel lens and foghorn were automated in 1974, and became occupied by the Coast Guard. The fog signal was initially removed by the Coast Guard, but after complaints from fishermen and local boaters, it was reactivated and eventually automated as well. In August 2000 Matty Nally and his crew completed the replacement of 3,000 bricks in efforts of restoration.

The interior of the lighthouse is equipped with a circular cast-iron staircase that leads to the top. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, and is one of the oldest lighthouses in Massachusetts.

The original wooden keeper's house from 1801 is still used as a housing for United States Coast Guard personnel who manage the site. In 2000, a major restoration of the tower was conducted by the Coast Guard. In 2008, the building appeared, supposedly as a lighthouse in Maine, in the film remake The Women (starring Meg Ryan).

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Gloucester, Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, Massachusetts

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 79.
3. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
4. ^ Rowlett, Russ (2009-12-14). "Lighthouses of the United States: Northern Massachusetts". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
5. "New England Lighthouses". New England Lighthouses. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
6. ^ "USCG".
7. "New England Lighthouses". New England Lighthouses.
8. ^ "NPS".
9. ^ "New England Lighthoues".
10. Jeremy D'Entremont: Annisquam Light. New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. (retrieved 23 October 2008)
11. ^ "New England Lighthouses".

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• Lighthouses completed in 1801
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• Buildings and structures in Gloucester, Massachusetts
• Lighthouses in Essex County, Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts