Nixes Mate, also known as Nixes Island, Nix's Mate and Nick's Mate, is one of the smaller

islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a national recreation area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsul ...

. Located in Boston Harbor's outer limits near the convergence of three major channels, the island lies about from downtown

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and about east of Long Island Head Light. The island covers and uncovers with the tide and is not open to the public. It is described in the Light List as "Nixes Mate: black, white band midway of height, octagonal pyramid on square granite base", Light List number 1-11450.

Description

The island features a prominent black and white stucco-covered wood pyramidal daybeacon, or channel marker, resting atop a granite base erected by the Boston Marine Society in 1805. Reaching a height of approximately , the beacon serves as a Federal aide to navigation, warning passing ships of one of the harbor's most hazardous shoals. Originally sheathed in slate shingles, the pyramid likely received its concrete coating some time between

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. A granite block stairway accesses the pyramid at the base's south side. The pyramid's hollow innards comprise a mortise-and-tenon wood structural system supported by cross-members radiating from a central column.

History

In 1636, Nix's Mate was granted to John Gallop, a

harbor pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professional ...

who lived on nearby

Gallops Island Gallops Island, also known as Gallups Island, is an island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. It is situated between Georges Island and Long Island, and is just over from downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of , pl ...

and used the then island for grazing his

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

. Ship's ballast was quarried from the island during the 17th century, followed by slate in the 18th century, resulting in today's much smaller island. In 1726, upon the arrest of pirate Captain

William Fly William Fly (died 12 July 1726) was an English pirate who raided New England shipping fleets for three months in 1726 until he was captured by the crew of a seized ship. He was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts and his body publicly exhibited as a ...

, officials brought him to Boston where he was executed. His body was then

gibbet A gibbet is any instrument of public execution (including guillotine, executioner's block, impalement stake, hanging gallows, or related scaffold). Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of cri ...

ted on Nixes Mate to serve as a warning to sailors not to turn to piracy. Before Fly's execution, he famously scolded the hangman for incorrectly securing his noose, then re-tied it himself. His body, as well as those of two other pirates, is buried on the island.

Construction

Recognizing the hazard the gradually disappearing island posed to harbor navigation, the Boston Marine Society appealed to Congress to construct a stone wall for a warning beacon around the island's remains in December 1803. With no action from Congress the Commonwealth of Massachusetts purchased the island and authorized $3,000 in state funds for the building of the wall and the beacon. By 1832, the U.S. government purchased the island and started to build the stone platform and wood pyramid, which was struck by lightning and burned in 1841, then reconstructed.

Restoration

By 2001, the daybeacon was in poor condition. The

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

, which is responsible for it, announced that it would be replaced, but following public outcry they rebuilt it instead, in 2003. Nixes Mate was 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 ...

as Nix's Mate Daybeacon on March 18, 2004, reference number 04000189.

Recent history

On August 25, 2012, the ''Provincetown III'' ran aground on Nixes Mate while ferrying 145 passengers from Boston to Provincetown. No injuries were reported.

References