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Managing Organization:
U.S. Coast Guard
Notes:
The 1847 tower was obscured by houses, so a light on a mast was added to the tower until the present tower was built in 1891. The keeper's house closest to the lighthouse now serves as quarters for a Coast Guard family. The other house is a vacation home for people in all branches of the military.
Tower Height: 45
Height of Focal Plane: 84
Characteristic and Range: White light occulting every four seconds, with red sector.
Description of Tower: White, cylindrical brick tower with black cast iron lantern.
This light is operational
Other Buildings?
1.5 story keeper's house, 1881 fog signal building, 1895 oil house, 1935 garage, storage building.
Earlier Towers?
1818: 25-foot stone tower; 1847: White conical tower; 1854: Three range lights; 1856: Range light on roof of keeper's house.
Date Established: 1818
Date Present Tower Built: 1891
Date Automated: 1976
Optics: 1857: Fourth order Fresnel lens, still in use.
Fog Signal: 1882: Steam-driven fog signal.
Current Use: Active aid to navigation, Coast Guard housing.
Open To Public? No.
Directions:
Martha's Vineyard is accessible by car/passenger ferry from Hyannis, Falmouth, Woods Hole and New Bedford. Call the Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce at (508) 693-0085 for ferry information. Sightseeing tours of Martha's Vineyard are available from Island Transport, Inc.; call (508) 627-8687. Take Main Street from the ferry in Vineyard Haven to West Chop Road and the lighthouse. West Chop Light can also be seen from the ferries to Vineyard Haven.
Mapquest URL: Click here to get a map to this lighthouse!
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Keepers: James West (1818-1847); Charles West (1847-1869); Charles P. West (1869-c. 1909); George F. Dolby (1909-1919); James Yates (1919-?); Octave Ponsart (1946-1956)
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