The Graves is an aggregation of rock outcroppings in

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...

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

, United States. Situated some offshore of 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 ...

, it is the outermost

island 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. It is the location of The Graves Light, at tall the tallest lighthouse in

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History ...

, and an important navigation aid for traffic to and from the port. The island has a permanent size of 1.8 acres, and rises to a height of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

; there is only aquatic vegetation on the island. The island is privately owned and the beacon and foghorn are managed by 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 ...

, and is not open to the public. The Graves are named after Thomas Graves, a prominent early trader of colonial Massachusetts and a rear admiral in the English Navy who was killed in action against the Dutch in 1653. The Graves are northeast of the Roaring Bulls and far northwest of Three and One-half Fathom Ledge. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ceded jurisdiction of The Graves, which lay outside the jurisdiction of any town, to the Federal Government on April 22, 1903, so that a lighthouse could be built on the ledge. The

United States Lighthouse Service The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of t ...

operated Graves Light until 1939, when it was merged into the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

. Graves Light was declared surplus property and sold by auction to a private owner in 2013.

References

Boston Harbor islands Islands of Massachusetts Islands of Suffolk County, Massachusetts Private islands of Massachusetts {{Boston-geo-stub