Borden Flats Light is a historic

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

on the

Taunton River The Taunton River (historically also called the "Taunton Great River"), is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater. From the ...

in Fall River, Massachusetts, US. It is a tower-on-caisson type known as a sparkplug lighthouse. The light was built in 1881, and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as Borden Flats Light Station on June 15, 1987, reference number 87001528.

History

By the mid-19th century, the city of Fall River had become a bustling textile-mill town, with regularly scheduled steamboat service to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The city is located at the mouth of the

where it meets Mount Hope Bay, which is an arm of

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sma ...

. Prior to the lighthouse, an unlit day beacon was constructed to mark the spot of a dangerous reef near the center of the relatively shallow Mount Hope Bay. In June 1880, $25,000 was allocated for the construction of a new lighthouse on Borden Flats, which consisted of a cast-iron tower that included a keeper's quarters. The light went into service on October 1, 1881, with a fourth-order Fresnel lens producing a fixed red light above mean high water. Rainwater was collected in gutters and stored in a

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

in the structure's basement level, providing the keeper's water supply. The lighthouse, which sits in water open to the south, was battered in the

hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

. The storm left the structure with a pronounced tilt, which it still has. A new wider caisson was later added around the original one for additional protection. In 1957, the lighthouse was electrified. It was automated in 1963. In 1977, its Fresnel lens was removed and replaced with a modern Vega VRB-25 lens. The fog bell remained in use until 1983 when it was replaced by an electronic foghorn. Under auspices of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, the lighthouse was auctioned privately through the General Services Administration. Nick Korstad, Cindy Korstad and Craig Korstad, of Portland, Oregon purchased the Light at auction and Nick, quickly began his 7-year passion and dedication to restoring this historic gem. After a successful rehab, Nick sold the Light to local resident Kevin M. Ferias in 2018, who is continuing the Overnight Keepers Program established in 2015. The Light is privately owned and maintained and is offered to the public for overnight stays, where you can experience living the life of a 19th century Light Keeper, but in a modern and comfortable way. The Light has 5 levels, is adorned with antiques and lighthouse memorabilia, with a 1st level kitchen, 2nd level living room, TV room/den on 3rd level, 4th level queen-sized bedroom and its 5th level lantern room with an incredible view of Mount Hope Bay, Braga Bridge and the city of Fall River. Guests come from all over the world to enjoy the experience as it is one of only two offshore caisson Light towers you can spend the night in throughout America. con

References

External links

* {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1881 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Fall River, Massachusetts Lighthouses in Bristol County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Fall River, Massachusetts 1881 establishments in Massachusetts

History

See also

References

External links