Notes:
(1) The Ninth Lighthouse established in colonial America.  Portsmouth Harbor Light was built to mark the Portsmouth’s inner harbor and the port side of the main shipping channel of the Piscataqua River.

      In 1623, the south bank of the Piscataqua River was settled by people escaping the religious persecution of the Puritans and indentured slaves.  The “Strawberry Bank” settlement became a major colonial shipbuilding center due to the local huge white pine timbers harvested and sent down river to the mast port of Portsmouth.  The masts were used for the ships of the British Royal Navy.

      By 1760, only Massachusetts shipyards built more ships than Portsmouth which was prosperous seaport engaged in shipbuilding, trading, and fishing.  Merchants concerned with the safety of their ships and goods petitioned for a lighthouse as early as 1765.

      In 1771, a Light was erected at Fort William and Mary as the first light station established at a military base.  According to U.S. Coast Guard sources, a wood Tower was built on point of Newcastle extending out into the harbor.  Another source cites a wood-framed Lighthouse with a copper-roofed lantern was built from April to July of 1771 when John Cochran, the commandant of Fort William and Mary, First Lit the Lighthouse.  Other sources claim Fort soldiers raised a lantern to the top of a mast or flagpole until a more permanent wood Lighthouse tower was built prior to 1784.

      A Undated Sketch of Fort William and Mary appears to authenticate the U.S. Coast Guard source of a wooden Lighthouse Tower.

      During the Revolutionary War, Portsmouth was a leading shipbuilding port and the Lighthouse guided new ships sailing out of the harbor.  In 1777, Captain John Paul Jones, the father of the American Navy, received command of the Portsmouth-built warship, Ranger.  Captain John Paul Jones sailed from Portsmouth Harbor on Nov 1, 1777.

      The Lighthouse was ceded to the new Federal Government after the Act of Aug 7, 1789 and was visited by President George Washington who replaced Keeper Captain Titus Salter in 1793 and ordered the nations Lights be maintained at all times, with a keeper living on site.

      Portsmouth Harbor became important to our new nation when President Thomas Jefferson created the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on June 17, 1800.  According to the new United States Navy, this was the best place to build American warships on the New England coastline.

      In 1804, a 80-feet high octagonal wooden Tower was constructed by Benjamin Gilman and exhibited a fixed light illuminated by eleven oil lamps and reflectors.  The new Lighthouse was needed to guide the increasing navigation of merchant and naval vessels.

      In 1877, a 48-feet high cast-iron Tower was built on the existing stone foundation to replace the deteriorating wood lighthouse.  The new Lighthouse, designed by Army Corps Officer James C. Duane who served as the Lighthouse Board engineer from 1868 to 1879, exhibited a fixed light illuminated by a Fourth-order Fresnel lens and kerosene lamps.

      In 1902, a Fog Bell was installed and struck by machinery every 10 seconds.  The Light was converted to electric power in 1934 and the characteristic was changed to Fixed Green in 1941.

      Currently, Portmouth’s rich maritime heritage continues as the Naval shipyard is important to America’s defense by maintaining, modernizing, and refueling nuclear powered submarines.

      In 2000, the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse was established as a new chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation to maintain the Lighthouse. Fort Constitution is open to the public daily unless closed for security reasons yet the Lighthouse and grounds are closed unless the preservation group has a Open House for Lighthouse visitors.

      In May 2004, the Campbell Construction Group of Beverly, Massachusetts, a company that has renovated 16 Lighthouses, completed repairs to the abandoned 1903 Oil House which will be used for public displays during open houses held from May to October.

(2) The original optic was a Lantern illuminated with fish oil and cotton wicks.  The optic was refitted by Lewis Patent Lamps and Reflectors illuminated with sperm oil between 1812 and 1815.  The optic was refitted with a Fresnel lens in 1855.  The 1877 Rebuilt (and current) Lighthouse was fitted with Fourth-order Fresnel Lens manufactured in France by Henry LePaute.
     
(3) Fort Soldiers were the Keepers of the 1771 Beacon established at Fort William and Mary.  The name of Fort was changed to Fort Constitution after the Revolution.  The Lighthouse name has been Fort Point Light, Fort Constitution Light, and Newcastle Light.  The Lighthouse is currently known as Portsmouth Harbor Light.

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