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Tarpaulin Cove Light was privately built in 1759 on Naushon
Island. Naushon Island is the largest of the Elizabeth
Islands - a chain extending southwest from Woods Hole on Cape
Cod, separating Vineyard Sound and Buzzard's Bay. Zaccheus
Lumbart, a tavern keeper, built the first light in 1759 to
aid vessels entering Tarpaulin Cove harbor.
Money was
appropriated by the government for a formal lighthouse in
1807, but due to opposition from James Bowdoin, owner of the
island at the time, land was not provided for the new
lighthouse until 1817, after Bowdoin's death. A 38-foot tall
rubblestone tower and keeper's house were built in 1818. A
fifth-order Fresnel lens was installed in 1856. The tower
was painted white in 1871.
In 1888 the keeper's house was replaced. In 1891, a new
28-foot brick tower was built, and a fourth-order Fresnel
lens installed. A fog bell was also built. In 1938, the fog
bell tower was destroyed by a hurricane. The light was
automated in 1941. The keeper's house and other structures,
all in disrepair, were demolished in 1962. The lens was
upgraded to fourth-order in 1962. Only the tower
remains today - fitted with a modern 200 mm lantern.
Lighthouses of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket - Their History and Lore, Clark pp. 201-208
The Lighthouses of New England, Snow pp. 315-316, 323
Massachusetts Lighthouses - A Pictorial Guide, Thompson pp. 54-55
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