Notes:
(1) Chatham Lighthouse was built to mark the dangerous shoals offshore around the “elbow” of Cape Cod.  The fourth “Twin Lighthouses” built in Massachusetts.  The Two Lights were used to differentiate Chatham Light from Cape Cod (Highland) Light.

      In 1606, Chatham was first explored by Samuel de Champlain who anchored in Stage Harbor (formerly called Port Fortune by Champlain) to repair his rudder.  He described the varieties and abundance of fish, shellfish, and game birds.  William Nickerson purchased the Chatham area from the Monomoyick Indians in 1656 and settled his family on the west side of Ryder’s Cove in 1664.

      For the first 120 years, Chatham, surrounded by open ocean, was vulnerable to raids from war ships, first the French and later the British, hindering stable development.  Chatham’s economy and population became stable after the Revolutionary War.  Fishing, saltworks and whaling maritime industries began to prosper and by 1808, a Lighthouse was needed to guide vessels around the treacherous shoals into Chatham Harbor.

      In 1808, two 40-feet high octagonal wood framed Towers were constructed 70-feet apart on James Head, a 50-feet high bluff.  Both twin Lights exhibited a Fixed White Light illuminated by 6 whale Oil Lamps with 8.5-inch reflectors and green glass lenses designed by Winslow Lewis, a Sea captain unemployed by the Embargo of 1807.  The “Twin Lighthouses” had three functions: Range Lights marking the safe channel for navigation entering Chatham Harbor, to guide maritime commerce, en route to Nantucket Sound, around the shifting shoreline and shoals of Chatham, and to distinguish Chatham Light from Cape Cod Light.  A small 17-feet by 26-feet Keeper’s House was also built.


      By 1841, the original Twin Towers were “decayed and shaken; dangerous to ascend.”  Both towers were replaced by two new 40-feet high brick towers erected further inland on James Head by contractor Winslow Lewis.  The second set of twin Lights exhibited Fixed White Lights illuminated by 9 sperm Oil Lamps with 14-inch reflectors.  Collins Howe, a Cape Cod fisherman, became the first Lightkeeper of the new Chatham Lights.  In 1857, both Chatham Twin Lights were refitted with Fourth-order Fresnel lenses exhibiting a Fixed White Light illuminated by one Lard oil lamp in the center of each Fresnel lens.

      Chatham, located on the tip of the “elbow” of Cape Cod, is exposed to the powerful forces of Nor’easters and tropical storms that cause dramatic changes to the shoreline and rapid cliff erosion.  During the severe Nor’easter of November 13, 1870, Chatham’s outer barrier beach was breached and erosion began to swiftly reshape James Head.  Both Chatham Lights were 228-feet from the edge of James Head bluff before the storm.  Ninety-five feet of bluff disappeared in two years and by 1877, both Towers were 48-feet from the edge.  Lightkeeper Captain Josiah Hardy frequently reported the serious erosion.  On April 25, 1877, a Light-House Board Report determined that the rate of erosion would destroy the Lighthouses within a year requiring the construction of a new set of Lighthouses.

      In 1877, the third set of 48-feet high Conical Cast-iron Twin Lights were built 100-feet apart at the present location.  The Fourth-order Fresnel lenses were moved to the new Towers and and First Lit on September 6, 1877.  The present 1-1/2 story Keeper’s house was also constructed and Captain Josiah Hardy became the first Lightkeeper of the new third pair of Chatham Lights.  On on July 7, 1878, the illuminant was changed from Lard Oil to Mineral Oil (Kerosene).  Coastal erosion eventually undermined the second Twin Lights at James Head.  On December 13, 1879, the South Tower collapsed and crashed to the beach below.  Later, erosion destroyed the North Tower and Keeper’s House on March 26, 1881.


      In 1923, nine years after the opening of the Cape Cod Canal redirected the main shipping from around the outer Cape and the Sounds, the North Light Tower was moved to Nauset Beach to replace the “Three Sisters” Lighthouses.  The remaining South Light Tower was refitted with a new Fourth-order rotating Fresnel lens illuminated by incandescent oil vapor (IOV) lamp that increased the intensity of the Light to 30,000 candlepower.  The Characteristic of new rotating optic was a Group Flashing White (four flashes every 30 seconds).  The increase in power of Chatham Light (formerly the South Light Tower) expanded its seacoast region to alerting mariners of the hazardous shifting sandbars and shoals from Chatham Bar to Monomoy Point.  The Lighthouse at Monomoy Point was deactivated and sold as surplus.

      In 1939, Chatham Light was converted to electric power replacing the IOV lamp with a 1,000 watt lamp that increased the intensity of the Light to 800,000 candlepower.  The 1802 clockwork mechanism that rotated the lens was replaced by a electric motor.

      In 1969, the entire Lantern Room was removed and rebuilt, and the Fresnel lens was replaced by rotating aerobeacons producing a 2.8 million candlepower Light visible to 24 nautical miles.  The old lantern room and Fresnel lens are on display at the grounds of the Chatham Historical Society’s Atwood House Museum.  The duplex Keeper’s House became the Chatham Coast Guard Station.

      In 1982, Chatham Light was automated.  In 1994, the Flotilla 1101 of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary “adopted” Chatham Light and maintains the Light as well as scheduling “Open Light” tours occasionally throughout the year.  The memorial monument near the foundation of the old North Light Tower commemorates the heroic efforts of Captain Marshall N. Eldredge and six Lifesavers from the Monomoy Life Saving Station who drowned attempting to rescue survivors of the coal barge, Wadena on March 17, 1902.  The barge was grounded on Shovelful Shoal.

(2) 1808: Six modified Argand Lamps with modified Parabolic Reflectors and
Green Glass Lenses.
1857: The Twin Lights were refitted with Fourth-order Fresnel Lenses and
Oil Lamps, Fixed White light.
1882: Illuminant was changed from Lard Oil to Kerosene Fuel.
1939: Lamp was converted to electric power increasing the intensity from
30,000 to 800,000 cp.
1969: Fresnel lens was replaced by rotating aerobeacons increasing the
intensity from 800,000 to 2.8 million candlepower.

(3) 1808: The original 40-feet high wood framed Twin Towers were built
70-feet apart.
1841: Two 40-feet high brick Towers replaced the original
Twin Lights.
1877: Two 48-feet high Conical Cast-iron Towers replaced the second
Twin Lights.
1879, Dec 15: The second South Tower, undermined by erosion, was
destroyed.
1881, Mar: The second North Tower and Keeper’s House was destroyed by
erosion.
1923: The third North Tower was moved to Nauset Beach and the South Tower was Refitted with a Rotating Fresnel Optic with a incandescent oil vapor lamp.

(4) Directions from Boston:
      Take MA-3 S (Southeast Expressway) to Route 6 over the Sagamore Bridge to Exit 11; MA-137 towards Brewster/Chatham.  Turn Right onto MA-137 (1.7-mi), turn Left onto Old Queen Anne Road (2.6-mi), and turn Left onto MA-28 (Main Street 0.7-mi).  At the intersection where MA-28 turns left, Drive straight to stay on Main Street (0.8-mi).  At the T-intersection with Shore Road, turn Right to stay on Main Street for another 1/2-mile.

Travel Weather Forecast

      There is a small parking lot in front of the Chatham Lighthouse and active Coast Guard Station.  Both the Lighthouse and grounds are closed to the public except for special tours and occasional open houses.  The Coast Guard Auxiliary occasionally offers group tours. For additional information, call (508) 430-0628.  There are several scenic views of the Light Station from the Lighthouse Overlook including the beach below the bluff.

      Explore the scenic vistas of Chatham by boat tours. Call first to check on the tour that passes by Chatham Lighthouse:

Chatham Harbor Tours
Chatham Fish Pier
Chatham, Massachusetts
(508) 255-0619

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Chatham Water Tours
46 Fairview Drive
Chatham, Massachusetts
(508) 432-5895
eMail: info@chathamwatertours.com

Chatham Light Wallpaper Photo highlights the Lighthouse yet Lighthouse Overlook provides Scenic Views of the Light Station, Lighthouse Beach, the Chatham coastline, and shoals.

Regional Lighthouses located nearby Chatham Light:
Nearby Lighthouses that can be visited in the same day offering different viewpoints of scenic Cape Cod.

Chatham Light, (present Page)
Nauset Light, Nauset Light Beach, 16-miles NW
Cape Cod (Highland) Light, 32-miles NW

Old Chatham Light Print
by ?

Old Chatham Light Print
by ?

US Coast Guard Station Chatham
Coastal Waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Sound