Wood End Light Lookout Station

[photo] Wood End Light Lookout Station
Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont, www.lighthouse.cc
Located approximately one and one half miles across Provincetown Harbor from Provincetown, Wood End Light Lookout Station is situated on several acres of sand and dunes with no other structures in sight. It was first illuminated on November 20, 1872 to guide mariners into busy Provincetown Harbor. The nearby Long Point Light Station, completed in 1875, is identical in design. Topped by a fifth-order Fresnel lens, the 39-foot tall, square, pyramidal brick tower was originally painted brown. A one-and-one-half-story wooden keeper's dwelling was built next to the tower. In 1896, a new wooden keeper's house, in addition to a storage shed and an oil house, replaced the original dwelling.

[photo]
Historic postcard of Wood End Light Lookout Station
Courtesy of Division of Industry, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Upon automation in 1961, the light station became unmanned and all of the buildings except for the tower and oil house were razed. The U.S. Coast Guard converted the light station to solar power in 1981. The Cape Cod Chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation has been licensed by the Coast Guard to restore and maintain Wood End Light. It remains an active aid to navigation today.

Wood End Light Lookout Station is located at the tip of Cape Cod near the entrance to Provincetown Harbor. It is part of the National Park Service's Cape Cod National Seashore. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains the optic, which operates as an active aid to navigation, and it is closed to the public. The grounds and remaining structures are maintained by the Cape Cod Chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation. The light station is accessible by 4-wheel drive, however, the National Park Service restricts access.

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