Monomoy Point Light
Encyclopedia
Monomoy Point Light is a historic light in Chatham, Massachusetts
.
The station was established in 1823. The first light was a wood tower and brick lantern room on top of the keeper's house. The current tower, one of the first made of cast iron
, was built in 1849. The braces which are prominent in the Coast Guard photo have been removed.
After the opening of the Cape Cod Canal
in 1914, most vessels bound from south of the Cape to the Boston area took the shorter and safer route through the canal, so there was much less traffic past the light and the light was deactivated in 1923.
The keeper's house is preserved and serves as a guest house today. The Lighthouse Preservation Society, the Massachusetts Audubon Society
, and The Friends of Monomoy support preservation of the lighthouse and keeper's house. It lies within the Monomoy Wilderness
.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
as Monomoy Point Lighthouse on November 1, 1979, reference number 79000324.
Chatham, Massachusetts
Chatham is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 6,625 at the 2000 census...
.
The station was established in 1823. The first light was a wood tower and brick lantern room on top of the keeper's house. The current tower, one of the first made of cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
, was built in 1849. The braces which are prominent in the Coast Guard photo have been removed.
After the opening of the Cape Cod Canal
Cape Cod Canal
The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway traversing the narrow neck of land that joins Cape Cod to mainland Massachusetts.Part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the canal is roughly 17.4 miles long and connects Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south...
in 1914, most vessels bound from south of the Cape to the Boston area took the shorter and safer route through the canal, so there was much less traffic past the light and the light was deactivated in 1923.
The keeper's house is preserved and serves as a guest house today. The Lighthouse Preservation Society, the Massachusetts Audubon Society
Massachusetts Audubon Society
The Massachusetts Audubon Society, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "Protecting the nature of Massachusetts." Mass Audubon is independent of the National Audubon Society, and in fact was founded...
, and The Friends of Monomoy support preservation of the lighthouse and keeper's house. It lies within the Monomoy Wilderness
Monomoy Wilderness
The Monomoy Wilderness is a wilderness area south of Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is located within the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and is administered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Severe winter storms isolated Monomoy Point from the mainland in 1958 and, 20 years...
.
It 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 Monomoy Point Lighthouse on November 1, 1979, reference number 79000324.