Graves Light Station, Boston Harbor, Plymouth County, Massachusetts
GRAVES (THE) LIGHT
Location: BOSTON NORTH CHANNEL/MASSACHUSETTS BAY
Station Established: 1905
First Lit: Sept. 1 1905
Operational: Yes
Automated: Yes- 1976- Converted to Solar Power in 2001
Deactivated: N/A
Foundation Material: Granite
Construction Material: Granite Block
Tower Shape: Conical
Markings: Natural with Black Lantern
Relationship to Other Structures: Separate
Original Lens: First Order Frensel Lens
Tower Height: 113 feet
Range: – 24 miles
Original Optic: First Order Fresnel lens
Present Optic: VRB 25- Solar Power 2001
Characteristics: 2 White Flashes every 12 Seconds
First Keeper: Elliot C. Hadley
Current Use: Active aide to Navigation
Fog Signal: Originally Daboll fog trumpet now automated-2 blasts every 2
Seconds.
National Register Status
Historical Information:
* Some think Graves Ledge received its rather ominous name because of tragedies. But not so. It was named for Thomas Graves a prominent, an early Colonial Massachusetts sea trader.
* John Winthrop- The first governor of Massachusetts named a group of hazardous ledges The Graves for Rear Admiral Thomas Graves in 1653.
* In 1842 IWP Lewis, Civil Engineer to The US Lighthouse Survey was surprised that there was no lighthouse on The Graves.
* Later an iron bell buoy was placed rear of the ledges in 1854.
* In 1907 Congress appropriated $188,000 for a tower on Northeast Grave Rock. The tower’s location was changed to The Graves in 1903
* Tje style of Graves Light is very similar to Maine’s Ram Ledge Light. They were built around the same time.
* In early 1948 the Coast Guard took over the operation of the Lighthouse.
* The original lens is in The Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.
Researched and written by Linda Herman, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.