Notes:
(1) Hyannis Harbor Light was built to aid navigation approaching the harbor and warn mariners of the dangerous rocks and shoal southwest of the Lighthouse.  In 1885, Hyannis Harbor Light became Hyannis Rear Range Light when a Front Range Light was erected to guide navigation approaching the wharf.

      In 1666, Hyannis was settled as one of seven villages within the Town of Barnstable by Nicholas Davis who built a warehouse for pickling oysters in brine at Lewis Bay.  Edward Coleman built the first permanent residence at the head of Lewis Bay in 1690.  Hyannis was a small fishing seaport until 1840.

      From 1827 to 1837, the Hyannis Harbor Breakwater was constructed by the State of Massachusetts (2,250-ft) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ( 1,170-ft) to create Hyannis Harbor of Refuge for coastal trading.  Merchant ships of less than 14-feet draft were able to seek shelter from storms and the sea’s fury.  The new harbor transformed Hyannis from a small fishing village to a major commercial center by 1854.

      By 1840, 200 shipmasters sailed from the port of Hyannis and the saltworks industry had become important.  Daniel Snow Hallett erected a beach shack and suspended a oil lamp and reflector in the window as the first private Hyannis Harbor Light sometime between 1840 and 1849.

      In 1848, Congress appropriated $2,000 to build a government Lighthouse and a small white Tower and “bird-cage” style Lantern Room was erected in 1849 exhibiting a Fixed White light illuminated by three oil lamps and reflectors.  A red sector warned mariners away from the hazardous Eddie Woods Rock, Southwest Rock, and Southwest Ground shoal located southwest of the Light.


      Daniel Snow Hallett was appointed the first Lightkeeper and lived in his own house in the neighborhood.  James Bearse became the second Lightkeeper by the political appointment of President Millard Fillmore in 1850.  Three years later, President Franklin Pierce appointed Daniel Hallett’s brother Almoran.  Due to political influence, Lighthouse Keeper jobs were generally short term positions.

      Hyannis became an important commercial center after the Cape Cod Railroad (later merged into Old Colony Railroad in 1872) was opened on July 8, 1854.  Nantucket was the major shipping port for the region and the importance of Hyannis Harbor Light increased as Nantucket’s trade was shipped to the Railroad line at Hyannis Harbor which was the nearest point on the mainland to Nantucket.

      In 1856, the optics were refitted with a Sixth-order Fresnel lens and a typical Cast-iron Lantern Room was installed in 1863.


      In 1885, a Front Range Light was built nearby on Old Colony Railroad Wharf as Lamp on top of a 20-feet high wooden tower.  The Front Range Tower was rebuilt in 1886 due to storms extinguishing the Light.  In the late 1800s, Old Colony Railroad Wharf was thriving with moorings for 12 vessels unloading cargo to the freight trains.


      In the early 1900s, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dredged a shipping channel through Lewis Bay to open Hyannis Inner Harbor.  Previously, only shoal-drafted vessels were able to enter Lewis Bay at high tide.  The main shipping of freight and passenger ferries was redirected to the new harbor and by 1929, Hyannis Harbor Light was no longer required.

      In 1929, Hyannis Harbor Light (Rear Range Light) was replaced by the Hyannis Harbor Breakwater Light and the Lantern Room was removed.  The Keeper’s house and deactivated Tower was sold as surplus to private ownership.  The Front Range Light was refitted with a 230 candlepower acetylene gas beacon.

The Hyannis Harbor Breakwater Light is a U.S. Coast Guard Active aid to navigation

(2) The Lantern Room was removed from the Tower in 1929 and a oversized “Lantern Room” was built in 1987 as a sitting room.

(3) The modified Lighthouse and Keeper’s house is the private residence of antique dealers, Alan Granby and Janice Hyland.  The altered Tower is best viewed by boat:

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      The old Lighthouse and new sitting room can also be viewed from the end of Harbor Road.

Directions from Boston:
      Take MA-3 South (Southeast Expressway) to Route 6 over the Sagamore Bridge to Exit 6; Route 132 into Hyannis.  At Airport Rotary, take the second right onto Barnstable Road which becomes Ocean Street (after the intersection at Old Colony Road and South Street).  Turn Right onto Gosnold Street, turn Left onto Harbor Road and drive to the end.