This is a list of all lighthouses in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

as identified by 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 ...

. Enumeration of the lighthouses in this state is complicated by the number of multiple tower stations and replacement of older towers, with the

Brant Point Light Brant Point Light is a lighthouse located on Nantucket, Massachusetts, Nantucket Island. The station was established in 1746, automated in 1965, and is still in operation. The current tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places on O ...

station having had nine towers, two of which survive. At present there are forty-seven active towers, of which eleven are privately maintained; thirteen are standing but inactive, seven have been replaced with skeleton towers, thirteen have been destroyed or removed, and one tower has been moved to another state. The oldest station, Boston Light, established in 1716, was the first lighthouse built in the colonies, and the current tower at that station, built in 1783, is the oldest survivor in the state and the second oldest in the nation, and was the last lighthouse automated in the United States. The last station established was at the Buzzards Bay Entrance Light in 1961 (since replaced by an automated light on a steel tripod), but in 1986 the 1818 Great Point Light was rebuilt and relit, making it the last tower constructed in the state. The tallest towers in the state are the two Cape Ann Light towers, but the highest focal plane is at the Hospital Point Range Rear Light, which is located in the steeple of the First Baptist Church of Beverly. A number of inactivated Massachusetts lights have met with unusual fates. The

Three Sisters of Nauset The Three Sisters of Nauset are a trio of historic lighthouses off Cable Road in Eastham, Massachusetts. The original three brick towers fell into the sea due to erosion in 1890 and were replaced with wooden towers on brick foundations in 1892. T ...

were sold off to separate private buyers before being purchased 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 moved back near their original site. Range lights in Nantucket and Hyannis were incorporated into private dwellings, the former housing the Gilbreth family of ''

Cheaper by the Dozen ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bestsel ...

'' fame. The

Point Gammon Light The Point Gammon Light was a lighthouse that stood on its eponymous point at the south end of Great Island in West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, on the east side of Lewis Bay and the entrance to Hyannis Harbor. Long inactive, it was converted into an o ...

was converted into an observation tower for birdwatching. If not otherwise noted, focal height and coordinates are taken from the United States Coast Guard ''

Light List A list of lights is a publication describing lighthouses and other aids to maritime navigation. Most such lists are published by national hydrographic offices. Some nations, including the United Kingdom and the United States, publish lists that ...

'', while location and dates of activation, automation, and deactivation are taken from the

Historical information site for lighthouses.

References

{{Lighthouses in the United States

Lighthouses 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 ...