Straitsmouth Island Light
Encyclopedia
The Straitsmouth Island Light is a lighthouse
located on Straitsmouth Island, in Rockport, Massachusetts
. The original tower was built in 1835, and replaced by a second tower in 1896. It was automated in 1967, and is still in operation. The United States Coast Guard Light List description is "White cylindrical tower". The actual light is 46 feet (14 meters) above Mean High Water
. The Light List name is "Straightsmouth Light", but the island is "Straitsmouth Island" on NOAA charts.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
as the Straitsmouth Island Light, reference number 87001487, on June 15, 1987.
Straitsmouth Island was owned for many years by the naval architect William Francis Gibbs
and his wife, New York socialite and opera supporter, Vera Cravath Gibbs.
The island was left to the Massachusetts Audubon Society
following the Gibbses' deaths in the 1960s.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
located on Straitsmouth Island, in Rockport, Massachusetts
Rockport, Massachusetts
Rockport is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,952 at the 2010 census. Rockport is located approximately 25 miles northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula...
. The original tower was built in 1835, and replaced by a second tower in 1896. It was automated in 1967, and is still in operation. The United States Coast Guard Light List description is "White cylindrical tower". The actual light is 46 feet (14 meters) above Mean High Water
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
. The Light List name is "Straightsmouth Light", but the island is "Straitsmouth Island" on NOAA charts.
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 the Straitsmouth Island Light, reference number 87001487, on June 15, 1987.
Straitsmouth Island was owned for many years by the naval architect William Francis Gibbs
William Francis Gibbs
William Francis Gibbs was a renowned naval architect who directed the mass production of cargo ships for the United States during World War II, including the famous Liberty ships, of which 2,751 were built...
and his wife, New York socialite and opera supporter, Vera Cravath Gibbs.
The island was left to 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...
following the Gibbses' deaths in the 1960s.