Long Island Light

Long Island Light, 1970.

Boston Public Library

Quick Facts

Location:

Boston Harbor

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

During the late 1700s, Boston recognized the need for navigational aid to assist ships crossing the Broad Sound Channel. In response to this need, the first Long Island light station was installed on a northern hill in 1794. Soon after in 1819, Congress commissioned a new, larger, and sturdier tower. It cost $11,500 dollars for the lighthouse, and the Boston Marine Society picked the location on the north end of the island.¹ First lit in 1819, the light, then named "Inner Harbor Light," stood at 20 feet tall.² 

In the 1840s, the Long Island Head Light underwent multiple inspections. Hard winters in the Boston Harbor and poor upkeep had resulted in cracked and broken glass as well as rotting wood within the tower. These issues caused leaks and decreased stability of the entire structural foundation. The lighthouse needed a total overhaul. In 1844, the South Boston Iron Company completed construction of the first cast-iron lighthouse in the United States, which stood on the site of the original Long Island Head Light.  

This light underwent reconstruction in 1881, and it relocated further west on the island around 1900 so that fire from nearby Fort Strong would not damage the light. 

 In 1918, lighthouse keeper Edwin Tarr passed away on the island. The bureau of lighthouses never filled his position. Custodians continued to light the beacon until 1929, at which point the lighthouse became automated. Discontinued in 1982, the US Coast Guard revisited the decision, and in 1985, the US Coast Guard installed a solar-powered light, which still operates today. In 2011, the National Park Service acquired the lighthouse, making it the only property on the Boston Harbor Islands solely owned by the federal government.³ Long Island Headlight remains recognizable by its white tower and black lantern, although trees frequently cover all but the very top.⁴

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Footnotes  

1. "Long Island Head Light," United States Coast Guard, United States Coast Guard Historian's Office, Accessed April 4, 2023, Coast Guard Long Island Headlight Article.
2. Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, Cultural Landscape Report: Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park, Volume 1: Historical Overview (Boston: National Park Service, 2017), 61; Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, Cultural Landscape Report: Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park, Volume 2: Existing Conditions (Boston: National Park Service, 2017), 116. 
3. Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, Cultural Landscape Report: Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park, Volume 1: Historical Overview (Boston: National Park Service, 2017), 117; Nancy Seasholes, "Long Island Head Light," Last updated February 26, 2015, Accessed April 4, 2023, Long Island Head Light - Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service).
4. Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, Cultural Landscape Report: Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park, Volume 2: Existing Conditions (Boston: National Park Service, 2017), 117-118.