Wood End Light

Wood End Light
US Coast Guard photo, not dated.
Map
LocationProvincetown, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°1′16.4″N 70°11′36.6″W / 42.021222°N 70.193500°W / 42.021222; -70.193500
Tower
Constructed1864 (lookout station)
1872 (lighthouse built)
FoundationConcrete
ConstructionBrick
Automated1961[1]
Height39 feet (12 m)
ShapeSquare, pyramidal
MarkingsWhite with black lantern
(originally painted brown)[1]
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place Edit this on Wikidata
Fog signalHorn:one 3-second blast every 30 seconds[note 1]
Previous (1902): 1,000 lb (450 kg) fog bell
Light
First lit1872[1]
Focal height45 feet (14 m) above mean sea level
LensFifth-order Fresnel lens[1] (original), VRB-25 (current)
Range13 nautical miles (24 km; 15 mi)
CharacteristicFl Red 10s (Red flash every 10 seconds)
Wood End Light Lookout Station
MPSLighthouses of Massachusetts TR
NRHP reference No.87001504[3]
Added to NRHPJune 15, 1987

Wood End Light Lookout Station is a historic lighthouse, located at the southwest end of Long Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts.[2][4][5] It is located at Wood End, near the southernmost extent of the Provincetown Spit, and acts as a navigational aid to vessels on their approach to Provincetown Harbor. The Long Point Light Station, further down the peninsula at the tip of Long Point is an identical design and completed in 1875, three years after Wood End Light.

The light was first illuminated on November 20, 1872, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. In 1981, Wood End Light became the first Massachusetts lighthouse to be converted to use solar energy to power the light and fog signal equipment.[1][6]

In 1896 a wooden keeper's house was built, as well as a storage shed and oil house. With the changing times and no need to man the light station, it was decided in 1961 to raze the buildings leaving just the tower and oil house.

Wood End Light, 2009

Notes

  1. ^ Fog signal is radio activated, during times of reduced visibility, turn marine VHF-FM radio to channel 83A/157.175Mhz. Key microphone 5 times consecutively, to activate fog signal for 45 minutes.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Wood End Light Lookout Station". Maritime History of Massachusetts, a National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary. National Park Service. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2019. p. 119.
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  4. ^ Rowlett, Russ (2010-03-10). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southeast Massachusetts". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  5. ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  6. ^ "Lighthouses of Massachusetts - Thematic Group Nomination (National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form)" (PDF). National Park Service. 4 May 1987. p. Item 7, Page 5. Retrieved 6 November 2014.


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