Lighthouse Explorer Database ... Brant Point Light

05/18/05 3:18 AM

1-800-758-1444

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Name: Brant Point Light

Nearest Town or City:
Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States

Location: Nantucket Harbor.

Click to enlarge: 44Kb   
Photo: Jeremy D'Entremont

Managing Organization:
U.S. Coast Guard

Notes:
Brant Point is the second oldest lighthouse station in the U.S., and the lighthouse has been rebuilt more than any other (at least eight times). The 1856 lighthouse still stands down the street from the present (1901) lighthouse.

Tower Height: 26

Height of Focal Plane: 26

Characteristic and Range: Red light eclipsed every four seconds.

Description of Tower: White conical wood tower with cast iron lantern. Attached entryway has red roof.

This light is operational

Other Buildings?
1856 lighthouse (without lantern); 1856 two story keeper's house, 1904 oil house, storage building, garage, 1936 boathouse.

Earlier Towers?
1746: Wooden tower (burned 1757); 1757: Wooden tower (destroyed by storm 1774); 1774: Wooden tower (destroyed by fire 1783); 1783: Lantern on spar (destroyed by fire 1786); 1788: ? Tower; 1825: Tower on roof of keeper's house; 1856: 47-foot brick tower.

Date Established: 1746

Date Present Tower Built: 1901

Date Automated: 1965

Optics: c. 1838: eight lamps and reflectors; 1856: Fourth order Fresnel lens; 1901: Fifth order Fresnel lens. Now 250 mm optic.

Fog Signal: 1856 tower had a fog horn; 1901: 1,000 pound fog bell; now automated horn with one blast every 10 seconds.

Current Use: Active aid to navigation.

Open To Public? Grounds only.

Directions:
Nantucket is accessible via ferry from Hyannis on Cape Cod. The Steamship Authority runs year-round car and passenger ferries; for information call the Hyannis terminal at (508) 771-4000. For vehicle reservations call (508) 477-8600. Hy-Line cruises runs a passenger only ferry from May through October; they also have a high-speed ferry. For information call (508) 778-2600, or you can request a brochure by faxing your name and address to (508) 775-2662. The ferries pass close to Brant Point Light as they arrive at Nantucket. The lighthouse is within walking distance of the ferry terminal. There are also guided tours of the island available from Ara's Tours (including all three lighthouses), call (508) 228-1951.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Keepers: David Coffin (?-1831); David Coffin 2nd (1831- ?); F. B. Smith (c. 1882); Gerald M. Reed (1927-1941).