Notes:
(1) The fourteenth Lighthouse established in America and ceded to the new Federal Government in 1790.
      By 1764, Newburyport Harbor was a prosperous shipbuilding port due to the abundance of timber and swift river transport of lumber down the Merrimac River.  To guide shipping entering the mouth of the Merrimac River, local mariners built fires on Plum Island Point and raised poles with torches.

      After the Revolutionary War, Newburyport became a thriving world-wide Maritime trading seaport.  On November 16, 1787, the General Court of Massachusetts authorized two small wooden Lighthouses on the north end of “Plumb Island” to replace the ineffective torches.  Local merchants funded the building of the Lighthouses.

      In 1788, both Lighthouses were completed to mark the shifting channel at the mouth of the Merrimac River.  Mariners aligned the Range Lights to avoid the dangerous shifting sandbars and sail the safest channel into the harbor.  From a signal tower, the Light Keeper used signal flags to signal when a harbor pilot was required to sail the vessel through the channel.  Light Keepers also fired a cannon to muster aid to a wreckage and frequently rescued shipwreck victims.

      Plum Island Light, also known as Newburyport Harbor Light, was ceded to the Federal Government on June 10, 1790 and President George Washington appointed Abner Lowell as Light Keeper.  Newburyport’s protected harbor became the “Birthplace” of the U.S. Coast Guard when the Federal Government commissioned shipbuilder William Searle to build the first Revenue Cutter in 1790.

      From 1788 to 1856, Plum Island used Twin Towers on movable bases used as Range Lights to mark the channel into the harbor.  The Two Towers were moved in alignment to guide mariners through the shifting sandbars surrounding the river channel.

      In 1838, two new octagonal towers were built on movable foundations to replace the original lighthouses.

      On Aug 8, 1856, One Tower was destroyed by fire caused by a thunderstorm and never rebuilt.  The Optics of the remaining Tower were refitted with a Fourth-order Fresnel Lens in 1856.

      From 1856 to 1898, a Bug Light (built 1855) and the remaining Tower were relocated several times until jetties were built to stabilize the channel. In 1898, a 45-feet high conical wood Tower was constructed and the Fresnel lens was transferred to the new lighthouse.  The Light was first lit on September 20, 1898.

      The Light’s Illuminant was changed from Whale Oil to Kerosene in 1878 and converted to electricity in 1927.

      The Light’s Characteristic was changed in 1981 when the Fresnel Lens was fitted with a green plastic cover.

(2) Directions from Interstate 95:
Take Exit 57 to Route 113 towards Newburyport. After crossing over Route 1, turn Left onto Summer St, turn Right onto Merrimac St. at the bottom of the hill, travel to the center of Newburyport and continue straight onto Water Street.
Continue on Water Street to the Plum Island Turnpike, cross over the bridge to Plum Island, turn Left onto Northern Boulevard (towards Plum Island Point at the northern end of the island) and drive 1.3-miles (just past 78th Street) where the Lighthouse can be viewed to your left.


The Lighthouse is located on the grounds of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters.



(3) The importance of navigational aids to the safety of shipping is noted by the brig, Pocohantas en route to Newburyport missed the channel and was destroyed by a sand bar just off the Lighthouse point of Plum Island during a sudden and severe storm of December 22, 1839.  The sudden gale prevented the Light Keeper, Phineas George, from returning to Plum Island Light and lighting the Lanterns marking the harbor entrance that night.

      Celia Thaxter who lived at the White Island Lighthouse would later write a poem to recall the events of the storm and the shipwreck of the Pocahontas.

Notable Sentinel Navigation
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