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![[photo]](buildings/wes1.jpg "[photo]")
West Chop Light Station
Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont, www.lighthouse.cc |
Established in 1817, West Chop Light Station originally consisted of a 25-foot tall rubblestone tower and a keeper's dwelling. The word "chop" was used to signify the entrance to a channel. By 1843, the tower was in poor condition, and the bluff overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor had eroded to such an extent that the lighthouse stood a mere 37 feet from the edge. A new stone tower, keeper's dwelling and fog signal building were constructed approximately 1,000 feet southeast of the original location around 1846. The station received a fourth-order Fresnel lens in 1857 and an assistant keeper's dwelling was built in 1882.
![[photo]](buildings/wes2.jpg "[photo]")
Historic photo of West Chop Light Station
Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard |
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West Chop became a popular summer resort area by 1890, and many large houses obscured the light atop the tower. After adding a 17-foot high mast surmounted with a light atop the tower, the Lighthouse Board decided to replace the previous tower with the current 52-foot tall, conical, brick tower in 1891. An oil house was constructed near the tower in 1895 and the tower was painted white the following year. In 1976, West Chop Light became the last lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard to be automated. The tower retains its original fourth-order Fresnel lens. Other buildings still standing are the two keeper's dwellings, the fog signal building, the oil house and a 1935 garage. The Vineyard Environmental Research Institute, an organization concerned with the preservation of lighthouses on Martha's Vineyard, used the keeper's dwellings at the station as offices for several years. Presently, the house closest to the tower serves as quarters for the officer in charge of Coast Guard Station Menemsha. The other house is a vacation home for people in all branches of the military. West Chop Light is an active aid to navigation and is closed to the public.
West Chop Light Station is located off West Chop Rd. near Tisbury on the northeast side of Martha's Vineyard, an island off the southern coast of Cape Cod. Situated on a sloping piece of property between West Chop Rd. and Vineyard Haven Harbor, it marks the west side of the entrance to the harbor. West Chop Light is owned by the U.S. Coast Guard. It is an active aid to navigation and is closed to the public. West Chop Light is easily seen from West Chop Rd. or by boat in Vineyard Haven Harbor.
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