Great Point

Alternate Name(s):
Nantucket
Type:
Year Established:
1784
Existing:
Yes
Great Point Lighthouse
Download:
IMG_6309adj.jpeg (958.34 KB)
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2016
Photo Credit:
Jeremy D'Entremont
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
Northern tip of Nantucket Island
Latitude:
41° 23.24'
Longitude:
70° 2.46'
City / Town:
Nantucker
U.S. State:
Massachusetts
Location County:
Nantucket
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Owner / Manager:
Trustees of Reservations
Open to Public:
Yes
Light List Data:
  1. Great Point
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Disposition:
Collapsed in 1984 Storm and Replaced with a Replica Tower
Year Tower Established:
1784
Tower Construction Material:
Concrete and plastic
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
71
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
60
Tower Shape:
Conical
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
No
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1890
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
Wood Frame
Other Structures:
Covered walkway between keepers dwelling and tower, oil house

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
Yes
Current Optic:
VRB-25 (SOLAR POWERED)
Original Optic Type:
Third Order, Fresnel
Year Original Lens Installed:
0
Private Aid:
No
Year Automated:
ca. 1950s
USCG Access to Optics:
Yes

More Information

Documents Photographs Postcards Architectural Plans Newspaper Clippings Objects People
Comments:
  • 1784 the light station is lit, but had no keepers dwelling. The keeper had to travel from his home daily.
  • November 1816 the lighthouse burnt to the ground
  • A new keepers dwelling erected in 1817 and demolished in 1889. Another keepers dwelling erected in 1890 to accommodate 2 families.
  • 1818 a new brick tower is completed
  • 1874, a Fresnel lens was installed. It was fueled by whale oil, then colza lard oil, mineral oil, then incandescent oil-vapor
  • Automation came in the 1950's
  • Vandals burned down the keepers house in 1967
  • Despite calls from the public to move the lighthouse due to erosion, action wasn't taken. A violent storm on March 29, 1984 with hurricane force winds hit and destroyed the lighthouse
  • 1986 Replica tower finished and operational
    • Entered by:
    t.wheeler
    Entered Date:
    Jan 15, 2018