The first Minot Ledge Lighthouse was built in 1850 and stood on nine steel piles, supporting a keeper's quarters and lantern room that reached 75 feet above the sea. The light barley survived 15 months before a furious 1851 storm toppled it into the sea and claimed the lives of two assistant keepers. Work began on the replacement in 1855, and over the next five years crews constructed a rugged 97-foot shaft of gray granite blocks, dovetailed together and fastened with steel pins. The foundation stones, securely bolted to the underlying ledge, were laid on a carefully prepared bed fully two feet below the low tide mark. The first 20 courses, to a height of 40 feet, were solid stone. The next 20 encompassed the light keeper's living area, work space, and storerooms. The lighthouse was activated in 1860, and the remarkable engineering effort has been hailed as the greatest in the history of lighthouse construction. The tower has firmly withstood the ocean's direct assault ever since, despite the fact waves sometimes engulf the entire structure and break cleanly over the top.
In 1894, the Minot Ledge beacon was altered from a fixed white light to flashing, with a 1-4-3 sequence that local residents have traditionally called the "I love you" lighthouse. The light was automated in 1947 and has operated on solar power since 1983. This was still an active lighthouse at the time of my visit in 2001. It sets far enough offshore that I used a 500mm lens in order to capture this picture.
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