Thacher Island is a small island off

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 ...

on the

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

coast in the

United States 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 ...

. It is a part of the Town of Rockport. It was a place where some naval confrontations, both minor and major, took place, which helped secure a victory for the colonists.

History

The island is named for Anthony Thacher and his wife, who survived the sinking of the barque ''Watch and Wait'' in the

Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 The Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 brushed Virginia and then passed over southeastern New England in August. Accounts of the storm are very limited, but it was likely the most intense hurricane to hit New England since European colonization. M ...

by reaching it. It's located in perilous waters, where there have been many shipwrecks. With the large number of shipwrecks around this area, there was a petition sent from sea captains to erect a light on the island. On April 22, 1771, the provincial government authorized construction of two lighthouses on the island. The lights went on December 21, 1771. Babson, p. 11 Although these lights were valuable assistance for the fishermen and sailors of the sea, there was a strong feeling among the townspeople that the lighthouse was helping the

British fleet The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

more than it was helping the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

cause. This feeling increased after hostilities erupted with the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill. Early in July 1775, Dr. Samuel Rogers of Gloucester led his company of minutemen to the island. There they destroyed the lights, and brought the keeper, one Captain Kirkwood, his family, and his assistants back to the mainland. Both lights were rebuilt and lit in 1861. They are located apart and are high. In 1967,

Joseph Barboza Joseph Barboza Jr. (; September 20, 1932 – February 11, 1976), nicknamed "the Animal", was an American mobster and notorious mob hitman for the Patriarca crime family of New England during the 1960s. A prominent enforcer and contract killer in ...

spent a notable period on Thacher Island as part of the

Witness Protection Program Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...

. The Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge occupies the northern part of the island.

Film

A film adaptation of

Casey Sherman Casey Sherman is a ''New York Times'', USA Today, and ''Wall Street Journal'' Bestselling American author, journalist and screenwriter most famous for his 2009 book ''The Finest Hours'', which was adapted into the big budget Walt Disney Studios ( ...

's 2013 bestselling book "Animal" was announced in August 2018, with the title Thacher Island. It is being developed by

Fox 2000 Fox 2000 Pictures was an American film production company within The Walt Disney Studios. It was a sister studio of the larger film studio 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures specializing in producing independent films in mid-range re ...

and produced by Berlanti Productions. The writing team behind the film

BlacKkKlansman ''BlacKkKlansman'' is a 2018 American biographical black comedy crime thriller film directed by Spike Lee and written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Lee, based on the 2014 memoir ''Black Klansman'' by Ron Stallworth. ...

, David Rabinowitz and Charlie Wachtel, has been hired to pen the adaptation. The film will tell the story of notorious Boston hitman Joe Barboza, who agreed to testify against the New England mob in 1967, becoming the first person in American history to be put into a witness protection program. As part of the program, Barboza and his family were transported to Thacher Island, where they would be stationed under the protection of

US marshals 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 ...

until the date of the trial.

Notes

References

* * Captains Courageous, Rudyard Kipling

External links

Thacher Island AssociationThacher Island Twin Lights on New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide
Islands of Massachusetts Islands of Essex County, Massachusetts Rockport, Massachusetts Coastal islands of Massachusetts {{EssexCountyMA-geo-stub