Notes:
(1) The fourth Lighthouse built in Massachusetts and the first Light built to mark a dangerous location, Thacher Island located about one mile off the coast of Rockport, Massachusetts, rather than a harbor entrance.  Cape Ann (Twin) Lights were the Tenth Lighthouse established in colonial America and the second twin-lights built.

      According to local and transatlantic mariners, Cape Ann was the most perilous shoreline on the coast of New England.  Thacher Island was named for the survivor, Anthony Thacher, whose ship, the Watch and Wait, was wrecked during a violent storm on the island on August 14, 1635.  In response, the General Court of Massachusetts granted Thacher “the small island at the head of Cape Ann, upon which he was preserved from shipwreck as his proper inheritance.”

      Massachusetts Bay Colony was the first landfall for the northern sailing track from Europe to the New World.  John Hancock, who held large shipping interests, petitioned the General Court for a Light-house that “would be very serviceable to the navigation and commerce of this province and be a means of preserving the lives and estates of a great number of His Majesty’s subjects.”

      At least 27 shipwrecks occurred near the coast of Cape Ann in the vicinity of Thacher Island.  In 1771, the Council of the Province of Massachusetts purchased Thacher Island for 500 pounds in order to mark the hazardous island.  Two 45-feet high stone and wood Towers were built close to 300 yards apart and First lit on Forefathers’ Day (a holiday in honor of the Pilgrims), December 21, 1771.  Both Towers exhibited a Fixed White Light illuminated by tallow candles or whale oil.  The Twin Lights were important to early American coastal trade as well as being Sentinels of safety to transatlantic commerce between Europe and Massachusetts Bay.  Cape Ann Light Station’s twin Lights were the first Lighthouses seen by ships en route to Massachusetts Bay.  Upon seeing the new lights, Cape Ann mariners affectionately nicknamed them “Ann’s Eyes.”

      By 1775, nearly 5,000 fisherman were sailing more than 500 vessels from Cape Ann and Cape Ann Light Station has been indispensable to the commercial fishing industry ever since.  During the Revolutionary War, the Twin Lights were darkened to hinder the British navy.  On July 6, 1775, Captain Rogers led a invasion to remove Keeper Kirkwood who was believed to be a Tory from tending the Lights.  The militiamen also destroyed the lighthouse glasses and lamps and the island was abandoned.  In 1784, the Massachusetts General Court paid Gloucester businessman Peter Coffin to repair Cape Ann lighthouses and purchase thirty pounds of candles to restore the Lights.

      On June 10, 1790, Cape Ann Twin Lighthouses were ceded to the new Federal Government and Joseph Sayward was reported to be the official Keeper at the time.  In 1792, Keeper Saywards’ report to Benjamin Lincoln, Superintendent of the Lighthouses, noted that both the Northern Lighthouse and “Southern Lighthouse” are 37-feet high from the base to the top of the Stonework.  The base of both Towers was 18-feet in diameter with 4-feet thick walls, and 12-feet in diameter with 2-feet thick walls at the top.  Both Towers were built a distance of 350 yards apart with iron Lanterns.  The supporting posts of each Lantern was 1.75-inches square embedded 4-feet into the stonework.

      In 1810, the south tower became the second Lighthouse, after Boston Light, to be refitted with Winslow Lewis’ modified Argand lamp and parabolic reflector.  The original Argand lamp was invented in 1781 by Swiss physicist and chemist AimÈ Argand and was in widespread use in European lighthouses.  The Twin Lights of Thacher Island were considered very important to coastal and transatlantic trading.  Lewis demonstrated that his lamp and reflector system was superior to the old spider lamp system.  A full-scale test at one of Cape Ann Twin towers showed the lamp burned a brighter light and used half the oil needed for spider lamps.  Henry Dearborn, the collector of customs and Superintendent of Lighthouses in Boston urged the Secretary of the Treasury to buy the new Lewis Patent Lamps.  Winslow Lewis refitted the nation’s Lighthouses with his lamp for $26,950.  By 1814, both Cape Ann Twin Lights were refitted with Lewis Patent Lamps and reflectors.  The Lewis Patent Lamps and reflectors were inferior modified Argand lamps with parabolic reflectors.  Lewis reflectors were made of thin copper that warped when exposed to the heat of his Lamp and the reflective silver plating wore off during cleaning.  Lewis Lamp assemblies were poorly fastened requiring constant repair.  Nevertheless, Lewis Lamps saved the new federal government 50% in whale oil costs ensuring that all U.S. Lighthouses were illuminated by the Lewis Lighting System for 42 years.

      In 1816, Winslow Lewis built a new stone Keeper’s house that still stands today with some additions.  In 1817, Winslow Lewis, “the de facto superintendent of lighthouses,” published the first light list called “A Description of the Lighthouses on the Coast of the United States.”  Lewis described Thacher Island Lights as “situated on Thacher Island, 2 miles from the mainland of Cape Ann there are two lights, one third of a mile apart, bearing S. by W. and N. by E. from each other.  The Lanterns are elevated about 90 feet above the level of the sea, and contain fixed lights, which may be seen 7 or 8 league distance. Boston Light bears from theses lights S. W. distance 9 and one half leagues.”  His 10-page booklet also stated that “All United States Light-Houses, are now lighted with PATENT LAMPS AND REFLECTORS.”

      In 1828, both Towers were repaired and new iron lanterns were installed.  Both Towers and lanterns were whitewashed.  On May 22, 1841, Winslow Lewis completed repairing the two Lighthouses and refitted the lanterns with new Lewis Patent Lamps and reflectors.

      In 1843, a boathouse and ramp were constructed on the west shore of the island.  Both the boathouse and ramp have been repaired and replaced numerous times over the years.  Most recently, the boathouse was destroyed by the “No-Name” storm of October 30 to November 1, 1991 (named “The Perfect Storm” by the National Weather Service) and the boat ramp was destroyed in the winter storm of December 1995.

      In 1857, a report noted that the Lighthouses were built of inferior materials and badly constructed requiring additional attention during the season of winter storms “to keep them in a fit condition for the exhibition of the lights.”  In addition, new Towers were designed to be First Order Lights to improve the interests of commerce and the safety of navigation.

      In 1859, Congress appropriated $81,417.60 for “rebuilding the two lighthouses on Thacher’s Island.”  From August, 1860 to October, 1861, two new 124-feet high granite Towers were erected 298 yards apart and exhibited Fixed White Lights 165-feet above sea level.  Both Lighthouses were First Lit on October 1, 1861 illuminated by First-order Fresnel lenses and oil-wick lamps.  Cape Ann Twin Lights were the last two Lighthouses to be fitted with a Fresnel lens.

      Ironically, Army engineer, Captain W.B. Franklin, used New Hampshire-cut granite to build the walls of the Towers instead of Rockport granite.  According to the engineer, the local granite was too “soft” yet in 1903, Rockport granite was used to build the 113-feet high Graves Light in Boston Harbor.  Both Lighthouse Towers are 30-feet in diameter at the base gradually tapering to 18-feet at the top.  A 156-step cast iron spiral staircase leads to the lantern (148 steps to the base of the lantern structure) of each Tower.  Both Lanterns are 10-feet high with 16-sides constructed of iron, bronze, and glass; and a roof made from copper sheeting and topped by a ventilating ball with lightning rod.

      The massive granite wall, 2-feet thick at the base, Lighthouses were constructed on a exact North-South axis to assist mariners to determine true north by lining up both lights.  Mariners also used both Lighthouses to check their bearings or set a course by aligning the Lights, “Lights in Range,” to a 178 degree heading south to Boston, Massachusetts.

      A fog signal building or whistle house was also built northeast of the south tower in 1861.  Since 1861, three whistle houses have been built on island and the fog signal has changed numerous times from a 1869, 15-feet trumpet powered by a 32-inch Ericsson engine to the current solar-powered FA-232/02 air diaphone with a range of one-mile.

      The Twin Lights were ideal for testing a variety of Lamp fuels. On July 27, 1864, a Keeper’s report on the experiment of Lard oil proved the fuel exceeded the intensity of Sperm Oil.  The Lamp of one Tower trimmed with Sperm Oil was carefully compared to the Lamp of the other Tower supplied with Lard oil.  Twenty years later on August 6, 1884, Lard oil was replaced by Mineral oil (Kerosene).

      In 1874, Thacher Island became a storm signal station by connecting the island to the Rockport telegraph office via a submarine cable. Telegraphy was a far-reaching improvement at sea that enabled the island to run up beacons to warn ships of approaching storms.  No shipwrecks occurred within 40 miles of the Thacher Island station during the gale of 1878.  The signal station was discontinued in March 1885.

      In 1885, a large federal civil works project was begun to create the “Sandy Bay National Harbor of Refuge” outside Rockport Harbor and North of Thacher Island.  The construction of a V-shaped 1-mile long Sandy Bay Breakwater would provide a safe haven for the 70,000 ships that sailed by Thacher Island annually.  The survey also reported 98 shipwrecks and 378 vessels with partial losses amounting to millions of dollars occurred within the past eight years.  Sandy Bay Breakwater was never completed due to the end of the “age of sail” and World War I.  Cape Ann Twin Lights became more important to the safety of navigation in avoiding the man-made hazard to navigation.


      In 1888, the Twin Lights and Thacher Island were adopted as the official seal of the Town of Rockport.

      In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson was on board the S.S. America steaming home from the Versailles Peace Conference which officially ended World War I.  The ship was on a collision course with Thacher Island in a blinding thick fog that prevented the captain from seeing the Lights of the Twin Towers.  The crew did not hear the fog signal until Third Assistant Keeper Maurice Babcock manually sounded the fog horn repeatedly and the captain ordered an emergency change of course away from island just in time to avert a disaster.

      In 1932, the North Tower Light was deactivated one month after the illuminant used in both Towers was changed to incandescent oil vapor producing 22,000 candlepower lights.  In the same year, the South Tower Light was converted to electricity supplied by a 6,000-foot submarine cable to the mainland and the characteristic was changed to five white flashes every 20 seconds.  The intensity of the new electric light was 70,000 candlepower.

      In 1979, the Coast Guard automated the South Tower Light using a 24-inch red flashing DCB-224 Aerobeacon illuminated by a 160,000-candlepower electric light with a visible range of 19 miles.  In 1998, the South Tower Light was refitted with a solar powered optic, VRB-25, 450mm red rotating beacon after the Coast Guard installed solar panels during the summer.

      In 1986, the North Tower Light was renovated and is currently an active Private Aid to Navigation illuminated by a 250mm amber (yellow) fixed beacon with a 15-watt fluorescent bulb.

      In addition to the importance of the Twin Lights to coastal trading and transatlantic commerce, Cape Ann Light Station has been beneficial to growth and success of Gloucester’s commercial fishing industry.

(2) Operates continuously. Emergency light of reduced intensity when main light is extinguished.

(3) In 1975, The original First-order Fresnel lens from the South tower was removed and is on display at the Coast Guard Museum in New London, Connecticut.
      1810 Optic: Argand lamps and parabolic reflectors.

(4) The original First-order Fresnel lens in the North Tower was destroyed with only pieces preserved at the Sandy Bay Historical Society and at the brick assistant keepers dwelling.

(5) In 1775, Captain James Kirkwood was branded a Tory and he escaped to Canada just prior to a invasion led by Captain Rogers and a company of Minutemen attempted to remove him from service.

(6) Directions from MA 127A (Thatcher Road) in Rockport:
      Turn East onto Eden Road, Turn Left onto Penzance Road, Turn Left onto Old Penzance Road, and follow to the end of the road at Loblolly Point.  There is a small field for parking and you can view the Twin Lighthouses from the rocky Loblolly Knoll, within a short walking distance from the parking area.


      According to the Fall 2000 newsletter of Thacher Island Association, the new Thacher Island Boat Ramp was completed in October, 2000 (the last boat landing ramp was washed away in December of 1995).  Thacher Island is open to the public who have the ability to land on the boat ramp using their private small boats or kayaks.  A mooring is available for larger vessels on a short-term basis. Camping on the island is available by permit only.  During the summer on Saturday from 9 to 11am, weather permitting, the Thacher Island Association provides transportation to the island for its members and their guests.  For Reservations or permits, call Dottie Carroll at (978) 546-7697.

      Perhaps the best way to view these historic Lights is by a Cape Ann Lighthouse Cruise.

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(7) On September 22, 1999, Thacher Island Association applied for National Historic Landmark status to protect the Twin Lights historical significance in illustrating the maritime heritage of our nation.

      On January 3, 2001, Cape Ann Light Station was designated a National Historic Landmark under the Maritime History Theme meeting criteria 1 and 4.  Cape Ann Light Station was important to the safety of coastal trading, and the trade with Europe, the West Indies, China, and the Far East.  Nearly half the vessels, en route to Boston, were involved with coastal trading with the middle and southern colonies and the West Indies.  Anne’s Eyes were beneficial to the northern coastal trade and European trade with Boston.  The Twin Lights were also crucial to the Gloucester commercial fishing industry and the global transportation of Rockport Granite by sailing vessels.

      The Lighthouses of Thacher Island are also historically significant as one of two Twin Lights still in existence. Navesink Lights are the only other intact Twin Lighthouses in the United States.  At one time, there were nine Twin Lights* and one Triple Light active during the early days of American Lighthouses to distinguish one Light Station from another before engineering developed revolving lenses with Flashing Characteristics.

*Plymouth Lights, Massachusetts (1769) - currently only one Tower exists,
Cape Ann Lights, Massachusetts (1771),
Newburyport Harbor Lights, Plum Island, Massachusetts (1788) -
Both Towers exist, smaller Tower was relocated and both Lights are inactive.
Bakers Island Lights, Massachusetts (1789) - currently only one Tower exists,
Chatham Lights, Massachusetts (1808) - North Tower moved to Nauset Light,
Matinicus Rock Lights, Maine (1827) - No Lantern on one tower,
Cape Elizabeth Lights, Maine (1828) - West Tower is private property,
Navesink Lights, New Jersey (1828),
North Point Lights, Maryland (1833) - currently only one Tower exists,
and the Three Sister Lights, Nauset Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts (1838) - modified and moved.

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