Monomoy Point Lighthouse

[photo]
Monomoy Point Lighthouse
Photo from NPS Maritime Heritage Program collection
Monomoy Point Light is one of the earliest cast-iron lighthouses in America. Boston's Long Island Head and Vermont's Juniper Island are among the earlier cast-iron lighthouses. Established in 1823, Monomoy Point Light Station was constructed on the southern end of Monomoy Island, which did not become two separate islands (North and South Monomoy) until the Blizzard of 1978. Pollock Rip, a region of unusually strong tidal currents located off the southern shore of the island, historically caused numerous shipwrecks and necessitated building a light station to mark the area. Like many early light stations in the region, the original Monomoy Point Light Station consisted of a brick keeper's house with a wooden tower and iron lantern room rising from the roof of the house. After operating for 25 years in an exposed location, the light station needed to be replaced. The present 40-foot tall, cylindrical, cast-iron tower, along with a keeper's house and a brick oil house, was built in 1849.

[photo]
Monomoy Point Lighthouse
Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard

Monomoy Point Light Station received a fourth-order Fresnel lens in 1857. To provide a more visible daymark (a sign or shape that is clearly visibile by day), the tower was painted red in 1882. In 1892, iron trusses were added to further stabilize the tower. With the opening of Cape Cod Canal in 1914 and the increased intensity of Chatham Light, Monomoy Point Light's importance waned. Upon deactivation in 1923, Monomoy Point Light Station passed into private ownership. Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex, a division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, obtained ownership of the island in 1944 and designated it as Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. The station has been restored and renovated on several occasions, and serves as a center for natural and cultural history tours and educational programs.

Monomoy Point Light Station is located on Monomoy Point near the southern end of South Monomoy Island just south of Chatham. Owned and managed by Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge since 1944, Monomoy Light no longer operates as an aid to navigation. Monomoy is one of eight national wildlife refuges comprising the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The light station is generally closed to the public, but the Friends of Monomoy National Refuge offer programs including an overnight stay in the keeper's house from Memorial Day to late September. For further information call 508-945-0594 or visit the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge's website.

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