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Managing Organization:
U.S. Coast Guard
Notes:
Minot's Ledge Light is known as the "I Love You" Light because of its 1-4-3 flash. The present tower is comsidered one of the top 10 engineering feats of the U.S. Lighthouse Service, and it is an American Society of Civil Engineering Landmark. It was considered a difficult and dangerous location for keepers; waves sometimes sweep over the top of the tower.
Tower Height: 114
Height of Focal Plane: 85
Characteristic and Range: Flashing white, 1-4-3 sequence.
Description of Tower: Conical granite tower with green cast iron lantern.
This light is operational
Other Buildings?
None.
Earlier Towers?
1850: Iron pile structure with wooden keeper's quarters in tower, destroyed by storm in April 1851. A lightship was near the site from 1851 to 1860.
Date Established: 1850 (1/1/1850)
Date Present Tower Built: 1860
Date Automated: 1947
Optics: 1860: Second order Fresnel lens (removed 1947); Third order Fresnel lens 1964-1971; now 300mm, solar powered. The Fresnel lens is now on display inside a replica of the lantern at Government Island in Cohasset.
Fog Signal: 1850: 640 pound fog bell; later horn. Now automatic fog horn with one blast every 10 seconds.
Current Use: Active aid to navigation.
Open To Public? No.
Museum?
There is a replica of the lantern room, with the third order Fresnel lens used in the lighthouse from 1964 to 1971 inside, at Government Island in Cohasset. There is also a memorial at the site to the two assistant keepers who died in 1851 when the first lighthouse was destroyed. Government Island is also the site of the onshore keeper's house built in 1858, now used for meetings. Call (781) 383-0505 for information. The Cohasset Maritime Museum at 4 Elm Street has exhibits on the lighthouse; call (781) 383-6930 for information. The museum is open in summer, Tuesday through Sunday, 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm, Saturday 10 am to 4:30 pm. The museum is free; donations are welcomed.
Directions:
Minot's Ledge Light can be seen from various locations in Hull (including Nantasket Beach), Scituate and Cohasset. A good but fairly distant view is possible from Sandy Beach on Atlantic Avenue in Cohasset. Closer views are available from cruises run by the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands. Call (781)740-4290 for the latest schedule of lighthouse cruises. The Boston Harbor Explorers also offer periodic cruises with views of Minot's Ledge Light; call (617) 479-1871 for information.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Keepers: Isaac Dunham (1849-1850); Isaac A. Dunham (asst., 1850); John Bennett (1850-1851); Joseph Wilson (asst., 1850-1851); Joseph Antoine (asst., 1850-1851); Joshua Wilder (1860-1861); A. W. Williams (asst., 1860-1861); William S. Taylor (asst., 1860-1861); James J. Tower (1861-1874); Thomas Bates (asst., 1861-1864); Levi L. Creed (1874-1881); Frank F. Martin (1881-1887); Frank W. Thomas (asst., c. 1880s); Lester G. Willett (asst., c. 1880s); Albert H. Burdick (asst., c. 1880s); Joseph E. Frates (asst. c. 1880s); Joseph Jason, Jr. (asst., c. 1880s); Milton Herbert Reamy (1887-1915); Octavius Reamy (1915-1924); Winfield Creed (asst., c. 1897); Pierre Albert Nadeau (assistant, c. 192?-1925);
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