The Sankaty Head Light is a
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 ...
located on
Nantucket island
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
. It was built in 1850, was automated in 1965, and is still in operation. It is located at the easternmost point of the island, in the village of
Siasconset
Siasconset is a census designated place (CDP) at the eastern end of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, United States with an elevation of 52 feet (16 m), and a population of 205 at the 2010 census. Although unincorporated, the village has ...
. It was one of the first lighthouses in the United States to receive a
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships."
The design allows the c ...
.
History
The shoals off the eastern coast of
Nantucket
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
had a long history as a hazard to navigation. The United States government decided in the 1840s that a prominent lighthouse should be erected to alert mariners to that hazard. Congress appropriated $12,000 for its construction in 1848, with additional funds totaling $8,000 in following years. The light went into service in February 1850.
The tower is high; its lower portion is constructed of brick, and its upper part is granite. The light's turning mechanism was powered by a weight-driven brass clockwork,
A brick house was built next to the tower at the time of its construction to house the light keeper's family.
[ In 1887 this house was torn down and a new structure was built.][ Its original lens was removed in 1950, and is now at the Nantucket Whaling Museum.][
In 1987, the lighthouse was 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 v ...
as the Sankaty Head Light.
The 'Sconset Trust acquired the lighthouse in 2007, and had it moved away from the eroding bluff (approximately ) in October of that year.[
]
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Nantucket County, Massachusetts
References
External links
Sconset Trust website
Moving of Sankaty Lighthouse Due To Erosion
"Sankaty Light: 'I see Sankaty, the mariner’s friend!' The future of Nantucket's "blazing star"
by Robert D. Felch. Originally published by the Nantucket Historical Association in the Historic Nantucket, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Summer 2007).
from Nantucket Historical Association's Digital Exhibition: 'Sconset 02564
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Lighthouses completed in 1850
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Nantucket, Massachusetts
Relocated buildings and structures in Massachusetts
Lighthouses in Nantucket, Massachusetts