Notes:
(1) Tarpaulin Cove Light was built to mark the entrance to Tarpaulin Cove harbor as the Twenty-fifth* Massachusetts Lighthouse.  Tarpaulin Cove’s protected harbor provided a sheltered haven for the busy shipping in the Sounds of Cape Cod during the 1800’s when whaling and international trading provided the major economic gains of our nation.


      In 1602, Captain Bartholomew Gosnold was the first Englishmen to set foot in New England after discovering the peninsula which he named Cape Cod on May 15.  Naushon Island is one of ten islands within a 15-mile long archipelago named the Elizabeth Islands by Bartholomew Gosnold on May 28, 1602.  The town of Gosnold, incorporated in 1864, consists of the Elizabeth Islands and Thomas Mayhew purchased the islands on Oct. 23, 1641 yet there is no existing evidence of a permanent English settlement on privately owned Naushon Island before 1691.

      At first, Major General Wait Steel Winthrop developed Naushon Island as a country estate, stocking the property with deer and turkeys.  Tarpaulin Cove was another pirates’ haven and renown as the last port of call for Captain Kidd (c.1645 - May 23, 1701).  In 1699, Captain Kidd eluded authorities by mooring in one of Gosnold’s harbors just before he was captured for piracy.

      In 1759, Zaccheus Lambert, a tavern inn-keeper, built a privately operated Lighthouse for the “public good of Whalemen and Coasters.”  Tarpaulin Cove was an accessible sheltered deep-water harbor in Vineyard Sound.  Nantucket merchants provided the whale oil and Zaccheus Lambert maintained and tended the Light until 1764.  From 1764 to 1817, Tarpaulin Cove tavern inn-keepers also served as Lightkeepers.

      In 1807, the government appropriated funds for a conventional Lighthouse yet James Bowdoin (1752-1811), owner of Naushon island, refused to sell a tract of land.  A government Lighthouse was also delayed by the War of 1812.

      After the War of 1812, the Sounds of Cape Cod became one of the the busiest waterway in the world again as the fisheries, the Whaling industries, and coastal trading resumed.  In 1817, the federal government bought the property on Naushon Island for a government Lighthouse and a 38-feet high conical rubblestone Lighthouse with a “Bird-cage” style Lantern Room was built exhibiting a Fixed White light 71-feet above sea level illuminated by ten oil lamps and reflectors.  John Hayden was appointed as the first Lightkeeper of the new Light.


      In 1842, Inspector I.W.P. Lewis, Civil Engineer to the U.S. Light-house Survey, reported the “whole establishment was in a dilapidated state” and recommended constructing a new Tower.  Lightkeeper Hayden complained that the leaky tower was filled with ice during the winter.  Except for the refitting of the optics with a Fifth-order Fresnel lens in 1856, no repairs occurred for almost fifty years.

      In 1890, a new 2-story Gothic Keeper’s house was built and the present 28-feet high white brick cylindrical Tower and workroom was built in 1891.  A conventional cast-iron Lantern Room was installed on the new Lighthouse exhibiting a Flashing White light illuminated by a Fourth-order Fresnel lens.  A pyramidal fog bell Tower was also constructed and a 1,200 pound fog bell with striking machinery was installed.  In 1938, the Fog Signal was discontinued after the bell tower was destroyed in the Great New England Hurricane of 1938.


      On March 15, 1891, a bizarre shipwreck occurred to the government salvage tug, U.S.S. Triana, entering Vineyard Sound en route to Tarpaulin Cove, Naushon Island.  The Captain of the tug was misdirected by a flashing white light on the southern shore of Cuttyhunk Island and turn to what he thought was the friendly light and safe anchorage of Tarpaulin Cove.  The tug became grounded atop Schooner Ledge near Canapitset Channel and heavy seas from a strong southwest wind eventually washed the bridge ashore.  Ironically, Triana was responding to the aid of the U.S.S. Galena and the government tug, Nina, which had gone ashore off Gay Head, Martha’s Vineyard, on March 12.

      On November 27, 1898, the 4 masted schooner, Lunet, loaded with coal entered Vineyard Sound as the Portland Gale compelled the Captain to seek refuge at Tarpaulin Cove, Naushon Island.  Tarpaulin Cove was a weather hole for many vessels sailing the Sounds of Cape Cod and with winds from the southwest, the Lunet anchored near the western shore under the lee of the Lighthouse.  On November 28, 1898, the wind changed direction to the northeast and the hurricane was accompanied by a blinding snowstorm.  The reduced visibility prevented the schooner from sailing in the harbor and 70 mile per hour gusts with heavy seas parted the anchor chain and Lunet was shipwrecked across the reef at the southwestern entrance to the cove sinking in 60-feet of water near the Lighthouse with no survivors.  The two-day Hurricane was named after the steamer Portland which sank with nearly 200 persons aboard and caused more damage to shipping in New England, than any other in history.

      In 1941, the Lighthouse was automated and the Keeper’s house was abandoned.  The government razed all condemned severely deteriorated ancillary buildings in 1962 and the Fresnel lens was replaced by a modern optic.

      Today, Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse is a U.S. Coast Guard active aid to navigation managed by the Cuttyhunk Historical Society (leased from the Coast Guard in 2001).  During the 19th century, Tarpaulin Cove was a favorite weather haven for both privateers and whalers and continues to be popular destination for sailing, sea kayaking, and diving at shipwreck sites.

      In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the landing of explorer Bartholomew Gosnold on Cuttyhunk Island, the Historical Society was exhibiting the Legacy of Gosnold’s Landing at the seasonal museum from June 29 to September 2, 2002.  For more information, visit:

---

*Seven Massachusetts Lighthouses were ceded to Maine on March 15, 1820.

(2) In 1759, Zaccheus Lambert, erected a early colonial Lighthouse as a Private Aid to Navigation.  Ironically, only colonial government authorized Light-houses are documented officially as historical colonial Lighthouses.  Tavern Keepers were also Lightkeepers until a 38-feet high rubblestone conical Tower was built by the federal government in 1817.

(3) Naushon Island is privately owned and access is for residents only. Tarpaulin Cove’s clear cool water, beaches, and hiking paths are a ideal overnight stop for a day sail or a power boat cruise.  Before hiking on the island, you need the permission of the J.M. Forbes Naushon Island Trust and the site of the Lighthouse is closed to public.  Since the island is a private nature preserve, public access is restricted to the beach of Tarpaulin Cove for 50 yards inland from the water.

      Tarpaulin Cove Light at the entrance to a picturesque cove can be viewed from a scenic sunset Lighthouse cruise provided by:

A sunset cruise from the Village of Woods Hole to the Elizabeth Islands and Martha’s Vineyard passes by Nobska Point Light, West Chop Light, East Chop Light, Tarpaulin Cove Light, and Gay Head Light.

---

(4) After the Pyramidal Bell tower was swept away by the Hurricane of 1938.

(5) After 21 years of deterioration, the 1890 two-story Gothic Keeper’s House was demolished in 1962.

Notable Sentinel Navigation
Back to Previous Light: Beavertail Light
Forward to Next Light: New London Harbor Light

or Regional Navigation