Tarpaulin Cove Light

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Tarpaulin Cove Light
Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont, www.lighthouse.cc
In 1759, local tavern owner Zaccheus Lumbert built a private aid to navigation on Naushon Island and maintained it for 58 years. By the early 19th century, the waters around Cape Cod were among the busiest in the world. Mariners favored Tarpaulin Cove on the south side of Naushon Island as a sheltered harbor. The Federal government decided to purchase land for building a lighthouse to mark the harbor entrance. Established in 1817, Tarpaulin Cove Light Station consisted of a 38-foot tall, conical, rubblestone tower and a stone keeper's house situated on a bluff approximately 40 to 45 feet above a boulder and sand beach. The light tower received a fifth-order Fresnel lens in 1856.

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Historic photo of Tarpaulin Cove Light
Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard
A new two-story keeper's dwelling replaced the old stone dwelling by 1890, and the existing tower replaced the previous tower in 1891. The 38-foot tall, conical, brick tower with an attached workroom was topped with a stronger fourth-order Fresnel lens. At the same time, a fog bell tower was constructed near the tower, later destroyed by the Hurricane of 1938. The U.S. Coast Guard automated the station in 1941 and destroyed the keeper's dwelling in 1962. Owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and leased to the Cuttyhunk Historical Society, Tarpaulin Cove Light Station continues to operate as an active Federal aid to navigation today and only the tower remains.

Tarpaulin Cove Light Station is located on the south side of Naushon Island. Naushon Island is the largest of the Elizabeth Islands off the southern coast of Massachusetts that extend into Buzzard's Bay from Falmouth on Cape Cod. Owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and maintained by the Cuttyhunk Historical Society, it is an active aid to navigation and closed to the public. It is best viewed by boat. For further information contact the Cuttyhunk Historical Society at 508-984-4611.

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