West Chop 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 ...

station located at the entrance of Vineyard Haven Harbor in

Tisbury, Massachusetts Tisbury is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,815 at the 2020 census. Vineyard Haven is the main village/town center of Tisbury. The two names are used interchangeably. As can be ...

on the northern tip of

West Chop West Chop is a residential area located in the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts on the north end of the island of Martha's Vineyard. It is a peninsula surrounded on the north and west by Vineyard Sound and on the east by Vineyard Haven Harbor. A li ...

, a few miles from the village of

Vineyard Haven Vineyard Haven is a community within the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts on the island of Martha's Vineyard. It is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 2,114 as of the 2010 census. The area was ...

. The first rubblestone lighthouse and dwelling were built on the bluffs of West Chop in 1817.West Chop Lighthouse History
/ref> Following constant erosion, the lighthouse was moved back in 1830, and again in 1846.Banks, Charles E. The History of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. Vol. II. (Dukes County Historical Society) The first lightkeeper was pilot James Shaw West who tended the light for thirty years, from 1818 to 1848. His pay was $350 a year. Subsequent lightkeepers were Charles West, 1849–1868; his son Charles P. West, 1869-c1909; George F. Dolby (1909–1919); James Yates (1919-?); and Octave Ponsart (1946–1956) Sam Fuller has also been mentioned as a lightkeeper. The present tall brick tower and dwelling were built in 1891. In 1976 West Chop Light became the last Martha's Vineyard lighthouse to be automated, but the original Fresnel lens is still in operation. The former lightkeeper's dwellings are now vacant but remains property of the U.S. Coast Guard and off limits to the public. The West Chop Light Station has been on the National Park Service's

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 ...

since 1987.

First lightkeeper

Captain James Shaw West (1777–1859), the first lightkeeper, was born December 11, 1777 in Tisbury, Massachusetts, the eldest son of Captain Jeruel West and Deborah Shaw of Frog Alley, Tisbury. He was married to Charlotte Hammond (1781–1849) of

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable. The terminal for the Steamship Authority ferri ...

.Banks, Charles E. The History of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. Vol. III. (Dukes County Historical Society) West was listed in the records first as a "

mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

" and later as a "

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

." He and his wife first lived in the area of the "Neck" of

which is now Hatch Road. Shortly after the erection of the first West Chop Light in 1817, they sold this property and presumably moved into the lightkeeper's dwelling adjacent to the lighthouse. (In 1842, they purchased a lot known as the "Point Lot" which surrounded the lighthouse property.)Descendants of Capt. James Shaw West (1777-1859) of Tisbury, MA
/ref> West was the lightkeeper of the West Chop Light for thirty years. During his term as lightkeeper, West oversaw the installation of new lamps in 1829, and in 1846 the lighthouse was rebuilt and moved away from the eroding bluffs, and a new dwelling built. (The old dwelling was given to his youngest son Gustavus and moved to Music Street, West Tisbury.) In late 1847, West bought a home across the street from the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Church in

Holmes Hole Vineyard Haven is a community within the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts on the island of Martha's Vineyard. It is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 2,114 as of the 2010 census. The area was ...

and the following year retired from his position as lightkeeper and moved to their new home in town. West was about sixty years old upon his retirement. His wife Charlotte died the following year, in 1849. Later records call West variously a "mariner" and a "

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

." "James Shaw West" was listed as a licensed

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

-holder in Holmes Hole and ran the "County House," but it is unclear whether this was lightkeeper James or his eldest son, James Junior. In 1859 James Senior died of "

palsy Palsy is a medical term which refers to various types of paralysisDan Agin, ''More Than Genes: What Science Can Tell Us About Toxic Chemicals, Development, and the Risk to Our Children;; (2009), p. 172. or paresis, often accompanied by weakness and ...

" at the age of 81. His children included Captain Abner West (co-inventor of the Holmes & West

Harpoon A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, seal hunting, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the t ...

Two Flue Irons
/ref>) and Captain David Porter West (1814–1886) (a whaling captain and a scholar of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the 1850s.)

Notes

{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1817 Towers completed in 1817 Lighthouses completed in 1891 Martha's Vineyard Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Dukes County, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Tisbury, Massachusetts 1817 establishments in the United States

First lightkeeper

See also

Notes