The Highland Light (previously known as Cape Cod Light) is an active
lighthouse on the
Cape Cod National Seashore
The Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS), created on August 7, 1961, by President John F. Kennedy, encompasses on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. It includes ponds, woods and beachfront of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion. The CCNS includ ...
in
North Truro, Massachusetts
North Truro is a village in the town of Truro, Massachusetts, United States. Due to its proximity to urbanized Provincetown, it is somewhat more densely developed than the rest of the town, with houses and small resort facilities lining the t ...
.
The current tower was erected in 1857, replacing two earlier towers that had been built in 1797 and 1831. It is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
.
[ ]
The grounds are open year-round, while the light is open to the public from May until late October, with guided tours available. Highland Light is owned by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
, and was cared for by the Highland Museum and Lighthouse, Inc. until 2014 when
Eastern National
Eastern National (also known as EN) is a nonprofit Cooperating Association based in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, that partners with the National Park Service in the United States. It was created by charter in 1948 to "provide quality education ...
, another non-profit group, took over the contract to operate the facility as a tourist attraction.
The
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
operates the light as an aid to navigation. The
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
ship was named after the light. It is listed on 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 ...
as Highland Light Station.
History
In 1797, a station authorized by
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
was established at this point on the Cape, with a wood lighthouse to warn ships about the dangerous coastline between
Cape Ann
Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts, United States on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of ...
and
Nantucket. It was the first light on Cape Cod. In 1833, the wood structure was replaced by a brick tower and in 1840 a new lantern and lighting apparatus was installed. In 1857 the lighthouse was declared dangerous and demolished, and for a total cost of $17,000, the current 66-foot brick tower was constructed.
On June 6, 1900, the light was changed from a fixed beam to flashing, with a new. The new Barbier, Benard & Turenne first-order Fresnel lens had four panels of 0.92 meter focal distance, revolved in mercury, and gave, every five seconds, flashes of about 192,000 candlepower nearly one-half second in duration. While the new lens was being installed, the light from a third-order lens was exhibited atop a temporary tower erected near the lighthouse; it was later sold at auction. The Highland Light was then the most powerful on the east coast of the United States. Two four-horsepower oil engines with compressors operated by an engine fueled by kerosene, were added to ensure that the fog signal could be activated within ten minutes instead of the previous 45. A new fog signal was installed in 1929, an electrically operated air oscillator, to make it audible over a greater distance.
The lighthouse was converted to electric operation in 1932 with a 1000-watt beacon. In 1946, Highland Light's Fresnel lens was replaced by modern aerobeacons, first by a Crouse-Hinds DCB-36 double rotating light and then by a
Carlisle & Finch
Carlisle & Finch is a manufacturer of nautical equipment founded in 1893 or 1894 in Cincinnati, Ohio, where, , it still has its headquarters. The company's main products through its entire history have been searchlights, mostly for marine applic ...
DCB-224
An aerobeacon is a light assembly used to create a fixed or flashing signal visible over long distances. It consists of a high intensity electric lamp mounted with a focusing device in a cylindrical housing, which usually is rotated on a vertical ...
, with a second unit as backup. Unfortunately, the Fresnel lens was severely damaged when it was removed, but fragments are on display in the museum on site. The light was fully automated by 1986 with a Crouse-Hinds DCB-224 rotating beacon.
In 1998, a
VRB-25 optical system was installed.
Most recently, the light source is
Vega Marine LED beacon model 44/2.5 installed in April 2017.
The current location of the lighthouse is not the original site. It was in danger of falling down the cliff due to
beach erosion, so the structure was moved to the west. The government funding to do so was supplemented by money raised through fund raising by the Truro Historical Society. The move was accomplished by International Chimney Corp. of Buffalo, New York and Expert House Movers of Maryland over a period of 18 days in July, 1996.
The move left the light station on Cape Cod National Seashore property, bordering the Highland Golf Course. After an errant golf ball broke a window, they were replaced with unbreakable material. In 1998, the keeper's house was modified to be a gift shop and museum. The lighthouse grounds are open year-round on Highland Light Road in Truro, with tours and the museum available from a National Park Service partner, Eastern National, during the summer months.
Highland Light in art
Painter
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching.
Hopper created subdued drama ...
, who owned a summer house in Truro, painted this lighthouse in his work ''Highland Light, North Truro'' (1930).
Although the light was subsequently moved, the landscape still resembles the vista painted by Hopper.
The watercolor resides at the
Harvard Art Museums
The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
.
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
*
Expert House Movers of MarylandInternational Chimney Corp. of Buffalo, NY360° view atop Highland Lightat Google Maps Views
* Edward Hopper'
Highland Light, North Truroat Harvard Art Museums
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Towers completed in 1833
Lighthouses completed in 1857
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Lighthouses in Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Truro, Massachusetts
Historic American Buildings Survey in Massachusetts
Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Massachusetts
1833 establishments in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Cape Cod National Seashore