Race Point Lighthouse

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Race Point sketch

Race Point Light is located approximately 2.5 miles from the heart of Provincetown, at the northwestern tip of the Cape. Due to the large number of shipwrecks in the area, Race Point Light was constructed in 1816 - the first of the three lighthouses in Provincetown (followed by Long Point and Wood End). As in the Long Point area, a small settlement based upon fishing and saltworks emerged - dubbed "Helltown" by the locals. The settlement lasted until the later half of the 19th century.

The original 1816 tower was a twenty-foot rubblestone tower. The lantern room housed ten Lewis lamps, thirteen reflectors, and Winslow Lewis' bottle-green glass magnifiers, by which many accounts only "made a bad light worse." (Clark, p. 45)

Travel to and from Provincetown was difficult - the route required crossing the sand dunes to Provincetown. In 1839, a dike was built across Hatch's Harbor to shorten the trip. Nevertheless, it was still a difficult journey. In 1935, Keeper James Hinkley devised a Ford with soft tires - "what may have been the first dune-buggy" (Clark, p. 49) - to cut the travel time to Provincetown to thirty minutes.

A fog bell was installed in 1852, and a fourth-order Fresnel lens in 1855. The fog signal was replaced in 1873, and the tower replaced in 1876 with the current structure - a 40-foot cast iron tower lined with brick.

In 1957, the Fresnel lens was replaced with a 1000-watt lamp. The larger of the two keeper's houses was torn down in 1960-61. The light was automated in 1978. In 1995, the keeper's house and light were leased to the New England Lighthouse Foundation (now the American Lighthouse Foundation), who completed restoration of the tower and keeper's house in 1997. In 1998, the keeper's residence was opened for overnight stays. In 2006 the whistle house was restored and is to be made available to overnight guests starting in 2007.

References (see links)

Lighthouses of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket - Their History and Lore, Clark pp. 44-49
The Lighthouses of New England, Snow pp. 250-254
Massachusetts Lighthouses - A Pictorial Guide, Thompson p. 78-79
Lighthouses and Life Saving Stations Along the Massachusetts Coast, Claflin pp. 55
New England Lighthouses, Roberts and Jones pp. 68-69
Lighthouses of Massachusetts, Roberts and Jones pp. 50-51
The Keeper's Log Spring 2006
Lighthouse Digest June 2006, August 2006

Select an image to enlarge

Pilgrim's Monument at Left

Directions: The light is available for overnight stays, and is periodically open for tours. The grounds are open year-round, but may be subject to closure, as the surrounding area is a nesting ground for the endangered Piping Plover.

To get to Race Point, take State Route 6 toward Provincetown. Turn north on Race Point Road, continue past the Province Lands Visitor Center, and follow race Point Road to the end. There is a parking lot near the ranger station. Old Harbor Life Saving Museum is near the parking lot. Be prepared for a difficult walk. The lighthouse is a two-mile hike over sand. The route also passes along the edge of protected wildlife areas. Alternatively, four-wheel drive vehicles (with a permit) can traverse the area. The light can be observed from a distance from the Pilgrim's Monument in Provincetown or Herring Cove Beach (at the end of State Route 6).

For current information, visit the official Race Point website (see links) For more information on the American Lighthouse Society, visit their website (see links). (January 2007)