Notes:
(1) Ned’s Point Light was built to mark the entrance to Mattapoisett Harbor.

      Mattapoisett, a Indian name meaning “a place of resting,” is a coastal town with a large sheltered harbor on Buzzards Bay.  Shipbuilding began about 1750 and Mattapoisett was a religious parish in the town of Rochester by 1773.

      By 1800, shipbuilding with four shipyards in operation and whaling were the principal industries of the town.  Eventually, many of the whaling ships that sailed from New England ports were built in Mattapoisett.

      In 1837, a Harbor Lighthouse was authorized for navigation entering Mattapoisett Harbor to the shipping center at the head of the harbor which was engaged with all maritime trades (shipbuilding, whaling, and trading with Nantucket, Newport, New York, and Savannah).

      Leonard Hammond began building the 39-feet high tower using rubblestone from a nearby beach in 1837.  The spiral granite stairs leading to the cast-iron lantern room were hand cut in Mattapoisett.  Construction was delayed since Hammond also ran a salt works and a tavern.  Ned (or Ned’s) Point Light was First Lit on March 21, 1838 exhibiting a Fixed White light 41-feet above sea level illuminated by 11 Lewis Patent Lamps and 13" reflectors.


      A inspection report from 1850 stated the Light Station was in “first-rate order and neat as a pin” yet another inspection in 1851 found the Lighthouse with a poor lighting system and the lantern room “too low for the convenience of the keeper.”  For inconceivable historical evidence, the original “Bird Cage” Lantern Room* was not replaced for 37 years.

      In 1841, Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick, set sail aboard the Acushnet, a New Bedford whaler that was built in a Mattapoisett shipyard, for a 15-month voyage to the South Seas.  Melville jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands meeting the dreaded Typee tribesmen and his adventure inspired Typee, a book which first brought him the most fame in his lifetime.

      In 1855, 16 whaling ships sailed from Mattapoisett harbor and the town of Mattapoisett was incorporated in 1857 due to differences between the farming interests of Rochester and maritime interests of the coastal village.  The last whaler of Mattapoisett, the Wanderer, was built in 1878 at Ship Yard Park, the site of Jonathan Holmes’s shipyard.

      During the 1870’s, Mattapoisett became a summer spot for Boston and New York residents after the decline of the whaling and shipbuilding industry due to the drilling of oil in Pennsylvania (1859).  Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes was a famous summer resident.

      In 1888, the “Bird Cage” Lantern Room was removed and a octagonal cast-iron Lantern Room was installed to house Fifth-order Fresnel Lens illuminated by a kerosene-fueled lamp.


      In 1923, Ned’s Point Lighthouse was automated and the non-essential Keeper’s house was floated by barge across Buzzards Bay to Wing’s Neck Light in Bourne, and is currently a private home.  Since 1935, Ned’s Point Light has been a popular romantic scene for engagements and weddings of local couples.

      In 1952, Ned’s Point Light was decommissioned by the Coast Guard and the grounds (without the Lighthouse tower) was sold to the town in 1958.  Mattapoisett developed a scenic picnic area and popular park at Ned Point around the Lighthouse.

      In 1961, the Coast Guard reactivated Ned’s Point Light with the installation of a new plastic optic.  The U.S. Coast Guard Flotilla 63 First District Northern Region adopted the Lighthouse in 1993 and auxiliary members renovated the Lighthouse from 1995 to 1996.

      Currently, the Lighthouse is managed and maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Flotilla 67 who open the Tower from July to August on Thursdays, 10 a.m. to noon.  Bert Theriault is the current volunteer Light Keeper.

*All Lighthouses in America were refitted with Fresnel Lenses by 1859 according to Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States by George R. Putnam, p.193.  All pre-1850 “Bird Cage” Lantern Rooms were removed and a new cast-iron lantern would be installed to house the new Fresnel Lens.

      A Fresnel lens increased the luminous intensity 400% over Lewis Patent Lamps thereby extending the visible range of the Lighthouse further out to sea.  Therefore, it is unexpected to find no evidence of a Fresnel lens installed at Ned Point Light before 1888.  Furthermore, nearby Bird Island Light was refitted with a Fourth-order Fresnel Lens in 1852.  The 1888 date may either have been transposed or Ned Point Lighthouse may have been refitted with Fresnel Lens sometime between 1852 to 1859 and again in 1888.

(2) The Optics were refitted with a Fifth-order Fresnel Lens in 1888 (inaccurate date? - see Note 1*).

(3) Directions from Route 3 S, south of Boston, MA:
     After MA-3 S becomes US-1 S, take exit 4 onto MA-24 S toward Brockton (18.3-mi).  Drive to exit 14A onto I-495 S toward Middleboro/Cape Cod (19.7-mi), take exit 1 onto I-195 W toward Wareham/New Bedford (9.1-mi), and drive to exit 19A onto North Street toward Mattapoisett (1.3-mi).

     Turn Left onto Water Street (0.2-mi). Water Street becomes Beacon Street (0.5-mi) which becomes Ned’s Point Road.  Drive to the end of Ned’s Point Road to Veterans Memorial Park and the Lighthouse.