Newburyport Harbor Light

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Newburyport Harbor Light
Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont, www.lighthouse.cc
Newburyport Harbor Light Station, also known as Plum Island Light, is located on the northern end of Plum Island at the mouth of the Merrimack River. Due east of Newburyport, Plum Island measures about nine miles north to south and one mile east to west. Newburyport served as an important port during the late 18th century, although shifting channels at the mouth of the Merrimack River proved dangerous for mariners entering the harbor. The original Newburyport Harbor Light Station was established to safely guide mariners into the harbor in 1788. Two small, wooden towers functioned as range lights and were constructed on movable foundations in order to easily change their positions as the sandbars shifted. In 1838, a new set of towers, also on movable foundations, replaced the original towers. Another small tower nicknamed the "bug light" was added in 1855. Fire destroyed one of the twin towers the following year. Between 1870 and 1882, shifting sands forced the remaining towers to be moved several times.

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Historic view of Newburyport Harbor Light
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard

The present 45-foot tall, wooden, conical tower replaced the remaining towers in 1898. Set some distance back from the beach, it is constructed on sandy yet firm ground and is thereby protected from the continuously changing shoreline. Newburyport Harbor Light retains its original fourth-order Fresnel lens. Although the nearby, two-story keeper's dwelling (1872) still stands, only the light tower is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Looking west from Newburyport Harbor Light, the Newburyport Harbor Range Lights are visible. The Newburyport Harbor Light is a Federal aid to navigation.

The Newburyport Harbor Light Station is located at the north end of Northern Blvd., on Plum Island within the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. Easily accessible by car, Newburyport Harbor Light Station is generally closed to the public but is occasionally open on weekends during the summer. It is owned by the City of Newburyport and leased to The Friends of Plum Island Light, Inc.

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