Palmer Island Light Station 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 ...
in New Bedford Harbor 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 ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
The lighthouse was built in 1849 out of stone rubble. It was discontinued when the harbor's hurricane barrier was built in the early 1960s, as its location immediately north of the barrier was no longer an outlying danger and there are lights on either side of the barrier opening.
From 1888 until 1891 it served, with
Fairhaven Bridge Light, as a
range light
Leading lights (also known as range lights in the United States) are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; they may also be used for position fixing. At nigh ...
to guide vessels past Butler Flats, a rocky shoal on the west side of the entrance channel.
It 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 v ...
as Palmer Island Light Station on March 26, 1980.
Nomenclature
*The USCG historical web site
calls it "Palmer Island Light"
*The current USCG Light List
calls it "Palmers Island Light"
*The National Register of Historic Places
calls it "Palmer Island Light Station"
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
Lighthouses completed in 1849
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in New Bedford, Massachusetts
Lighthouses in Bristol County, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in New Bedford, Massachusetts
1849 establishments in Massachusetts
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