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![[photo]](buildings/ply1.jpg "[photo]")
Plymouth Light Station
Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont, www.lighthouse.cc |
Plymouth Light Station, also known as Gurnet Light, was first established on a high bluff at the end of Gurnet Point in 1768. Plymouth served as one of the major ports of colonial America. Increased shipping traffic necessitated a navigational aid to guide mariners in and out of Plymouth Harbor and further promote trade. The original structure resembled a house with a lantern room at each end of the roof. After a fire destroyed the first light station in 1801, a new pair of wooden towers was constructed by 1803. The towers had deteriorated to such an extent by the 1840s that it became necessary to build a third set of light towers. Completed in 1843, the new octagonal, pyramidal, wooden towers were 34 feet high and connected by an enclosed storage shed. Because of the close proximity of the towers, the twin lights often appeared as a single light at sea and confused mariners. In 1871, the sixth-order lenses were replaced with stronger fourth-order lenses to remedy the problem. The Lighthouse Board discontinued the light in the northeast tower, which was subsequently demolished, ending 156 years of twin lights on the site.
![[photo]](buildings/ply2.jpg "[photo]")
Plymouth Light Station
Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont, www.lighthouse.cc |
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The remaining tower is the Nation's oldest, free-standing, wooden lighthouse tower, and it continues to operate as an active aid to navigation today. The U.S. Coast Guard removed the fourth-order lens upon automation in 1986 and replaced it with a modern optic. The Fresnel lens is currently on display at the Hull Lifesaving Museum at the Point Allerton Lifesaving Station in Hull, Massachusetts. In 1998, Plymouth Light was moved approximately 140 feet back from its original location because of cliff erosion.
Plymouth Light Station is located on Gurnet Point in Plymouth at the entrance to Duxbury Bay. Owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and managed by Project Gurnet and Bug Lights, Plymouth Light Station is an active aid to navigation. The light station is generally closed to the public but may be open for brief periods including Duxbury's "Opening of the Bay" festival in May. Best seen by boat, the light is also visible from areas surrounding Plymouth Harbor. For more information about Project Gurnet and Bug Lights visit the organization's website.
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