Butler Flats Light, New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

 is a sparkplug lighthouse

Sparkplug lighthouse

A sparkplug lighthouse, sometimes known as a bug light, is a type of caisson lighthouse so named because of its shape. Generally speaking, a sparkplug lighthouse consists of a three-story living area, with the lantern on top; the whole is then placed upon a concrete or metal caisson. The...

 located in the New Bedford outer harbor, at the mouth of the Acushnet River

Acushnet River

The Acushnet River is the largest river, long, flowing into Buzzards Bay in southeastern Massachusetts, in the United States. The name "Acushnet" comes from the Wampanoag or Algonquian word, "Cushnea", meaning "as far as the waters", a word that was used by the original owners of the land in...

. It is currently operated by the City of New Bedford. The lighthouse is not open to the public, but is easily visible from the shore along East Rodney French Boulevard in New Bedford as well as other points along the city's waterfront.

The light was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

as Butler Flats Light Station on June 15, 1987, reference number 87001530.