Notes:
(1) Point Gammon Light marked the east side of the entrance to Hyannis harbor and the rocks of Bishop and Clerks.

      After the war of 1812, the Sounds of Cape Cod became a busy waterway again as coastal trading, the fisheries and the whaling industry rebounded.  A hazardous group of ledges and rocks named Bishop and Clerks endangered navigation in Nantucket Sound.  Bishop and Clerks is located 2-1/2 miles offshore from Point Gammon at the southern end of Great Island and the east of the entrance to Hyannis Harbor.

      In 1816, a 20-feet high white-washed fieldstone Tower was built exhibiting a Fixed White light illuminated by 11 Oil Lamps with reflectors 70-feet above sea level as a early endeavor to mark the dangerous Bishop and Clerks rocks from land.  The architectural style of Point Gammon Light and Keeper’s house resembled the stonework of a British castle with narrow windows.

      Samuel Peak was appointed as the first Lightkeeper and served from 1816 to 1824.  His son, John became the only other Lightkeeper of Point Gammon Light and served from 1824 to 1858.  Keeper John Peak criticized the construction of the stone Keeper’s house as extremely leaky and in a state of disrepair in 1842.  I.W.P. Lewis, Civil Engineer to the U.S. Light-house Survey, reported that the Lantern and Tower needed repairs to “become exceedingly useful, if properly fitted up.”

      In 1855, John Peak listed four steamboats, 216 brigs, 1,455 sloops, and 4,969 schooners passing by his Light Station one year after Hyannis Harbor became a important commercial center due to the opening of the Cape Cod Railroad at the harbor’s waterfront.  Point Gammon Light was determined to be ineffective for the increased volume of navigation and was replaced by Lightship LV 4 located On Station at Bishop and Clerks in Nantucket Sound from 1856 to 1858.

      Light Vessel 4 was built in 1855 at the Boston Navy Yard to mark Bishop and Clerks rocks with a single lantern on the main mast illuminated by eight Argand fountain, Funck burner oil lamps with reflectors.  The Lightship’s Fog Signal employed a hand operated 978-pound Fog Bell.  In 1858, Bishop and Clerks Lighthouse replaced Lightship LV 4 and John Peak became the first Lightkeeper of the new Light Station.

      In 1872, Great Island was sold as private property and Point Gammon Lighthouse was repaired for viewing the surrounding vistas in 1882.  The stones of the Keeper’s house were used to build a private butterfly museum near the home of Charles B. Cory in 1935.  The remaining Tower was renovated as a summer residence by Arnold Chace during the 1970s.

(2) Directions:
      Since Great Island is private property, the Lighthouse is best viewed by private boat, the Hyannis Ferry, or a sailing cruise of Lewis Bay.

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      A distant view of Point Gammon Light can be seen from the mainland at Kalmus Park Beach, Dunbar Point in Hyannis.  Kalmus Park is located at the end of Ocean Street and binoculars are recommended for viewing the Lighthouse.

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).