Borden Flats Lighthouse, Mt. Hope Bay, Somerset, Massachusetts
BORDEN FLATS LIGHT
TAUNTON RIVER/MOUNT HOPE BAY
41° 14' 15" N x 71° 10' 29" W
Station Established: 1881
Year Current/Last Tower(s) First Lit: 1881
Operational? YES
Automated? YES 1963
Deactivated: n/a
Foundation Materials: CAST IRON/CONCRETE CAISSON
Construction Materials: CAST IRON
Tower Shape: CONICAL
Height: 48-feet
Markings/Pattern: WHITE TOP/BLACK BOTTOM "SPARK PLUG"
Characteristics: flashing white light every 2.5 seconds
Relationship to Other Structure: INTEGRAL
Original Lens: FOURTH ORDER, FRESNEL 1881
Present Optic: 250 MM (1977)
Foghorn: One blast every 10 seconds (1-second blast)
Historical Information:
* The first beacon in the Fall River area was established in 1875 and was discontinued after the present tower was built in 1881.
* 1880: The site was purchased by the U.S. Government.
* 1881: The present lighthouse was constructed at a cost of $24,000. When first established, the optic was a kerosene-fed fourth-order Fresnel Lens.
* 1957: The tower was electrified.
* 1963: The light station was fully automated.
* 1977: In 1977 a modern plastic lens replaced the lantern’s classical lens.
* 1983: Fog signal changed to an electric horn.