These lighthouses are located at Rockport, MA. - The Commonwealth of Massachusetts established a twin-light station on the northeast side of Thacher's Island. The original rubble masonry lighthouses, built in 1771, stood 298 yards apart from each other. The north tower, 39 feet high and the south tower 35 feet high were oriented in a northeast-southwest alignment. They lasted until 1861 before being replaced by a pair of 124-foot high cut granite structures. Each are 30 feet in diameter at the base, 18 feet at the top, and were equipped with first-order Fresnel lenses. Both towers displayed fixed white lights. When the beacon in the north tower was extinguished in 1932, as an efficiency move, the south tower light was changed to a more intense flashing white beam. Before my visit here in 2001, the light had been changed to red.
Thacher's Island became the property of the Town of Rockport in 1980, the same year the south light was automated. At the time of my 2001 visit, the property was managed by the Thacher4's Island Association in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. One of its notable achievements was the successful restoration of the long-neglected north tower, which was relighted in 1989 as a private aid to navigation. That year, and for the next several years, the Association operated a launch for island visitors until a winter storm of 1995 destroyed the landing ramp. The group hoped to renew the trips once the landing area was restored, and most likely has done so by now.
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