The Clarks Point Light is located in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

. Originally constructed as a wooden tower, it was replaced with a stone tower in 1804. This in turn was replaced by a structure on the parapets of

Fort Rodman Fort Taber District or the Fort at Clark's Point is a historic American Civil War-era military fort on Wharf Road within the former Fort Rodman Military Reservation in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The fort is now part of Fort Taber Park, a 47- ...

which was deactivated in 1898. After restoration in the early 1970s, it was relit again in 2001 by the city as a private aid.

History

The first light at this location was erected in 1797 by a group of local merchants, New Bedford at the time being a center of the

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

industry. This tower, constructed of wood, lasted only a year before it was destroyed in a fire; its successor was also privately erected, but was turned over to the federal government in 1800, having been lit the previous year. This tower lasted somewhat longer, apparently destroyed by lightning in 1803. The following year a stone tower was erected; this was rebuilt somewhat in 1818, increasing the height of the tower. Various upgrades to the tower were performed over the years including new lamps and an octagonal lantern. There was no keeper's dwelling at the site until 1842. Starting in 1857, construction on

Fort Taber Taber may refer to: Places *Taber, Alberta, town in Canada *Municipal District of Taber, a municipal district in Alberta, Canada *Taber Airport, near the town in Alberta, Canada *Fort Taber, Civil War-era fort and park in Massachusetts, USA Othe ...

(also known as Fort Rodman) begin adjacent to the lighthouse. The fort became obsolete following the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, and construction was finally halted in 1871, though the stone superstructure was essentially complete by the end of the war. The walls were found to obscure the lighthouse beacon from some quarters, and therefore a new lighthouse was built on the fort itself. This was a small wooden structure with the lantern set on its

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

. Special swinging frames were provided for the lantern to minimize the risk of damage when the fort's cannons were fired, but these were never put to the test. The old tower was abandoned and was eventually demolished in 1906. By that time the

Butler Flats Light Butler Flats Light is a sparkplug lighthouse located in the outer harbor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, at the mouth of the Acushnet River. Built in 1898 by the United States Lighthouse Board, it is the only known caisson lighthouse designed by ...

had been established next to the shipping channel, and the light on the fort was rendered obsolete; the Clarks Point keeper was transferred to the new light in 1898, and the old light was extinguished. New Bedford Fort

It remained perched on the fort, however, and in the early 1970s it was restored along with the remains of the fort. Nonetheless it was badly damaged by vandals. In the late 1990s the city restored the area around the fort as a park, and in 2001 the lighthouse was rebuilt and relit, along with two other lighthouses. In 2015 the Coast Guard rescinded its license due to lack of care and no longer operates as a private aid to navigation.

References

External links

Clark's Point Lighthouse
{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1797 Towers completed in 1797 Lighthouses completed in 1869 Lighthouses in Bristol County, Massachusetts 1797 establishments in Massachusetts New Bedford, Massachusetts