Massachusetts - Race Point Lighthouse

The Race Point Lighthouse is located near Provincetown, MA. The treacherous Peaked Hill Bars parallel the outer shores of Cape Cod near Race Point, at the northernmost tip of Cape Cod. Their dreaded shallows have snagged countless ships over the years. The Lighthouse Service recognized this spot was a vital landmark for vessels bound to and from Boston from points south. Therefore, in 1816 it built a twenty foot rubblestone tower here together with a small house for the keeper and a covered walkway between the two. However, seafarers quickly complained that the beacon was too weak. So, in 1876 the stone tower was removed and a conical forty foot, cast iron tower was built in its place. The rotating beacon, used to help distinguish it from the fixed one at Boston Light, was changed to a steady glow, interrupted by a white flash every ninety seconds. The oil-kerosene-burning lamps were not converted to electricity until 1957. The light station was automated in 1978 and shows a solar-powered white flash from forty-one feet above sea level.

This lighthouse was still active at the time of my visit in 2001. The New England Lighthouse Foundation leased the light station grounds, which are now part of the Cap Cod National Seashore, including the remaining keeper's house.