The first keeper of Bird Island Light was William S. Moore. Local legend says
that Moore was a pirate and that he was banished to Bird Island as punishment.
Some accounts also claim that Moore murdered his wife and subsequently disappeared.
A gun was reportedly found in a secret hiding place, along with a bag of tobacco,
when the original keeper's house was torn down around 1890. The gun was believed
by some to have been the murder weapon.
A note was also found, signed by Keeper Moore. It blamed certain nearby residents
for providing the tobacco that he said had killed his "Dearly Loved" wife. Although
she’s supposedly buried on the island, there’s no sign of the grave.
Later keepers were frightened by the reported apparition of a hunched-over old
woman, rapping at the door during the night. They said she was reaching out as
if begging for something – tobacco, maybe?
During a bad winter in 1890, the 11-month-old child of Keeper Peter Murray became
ill with pneumonia. The ice prevented the keeper from getting the baby to the
mainland and he had no way of signaling for help. Desperate, he extinguished the
light to attract attention. Help eventually arrived, but too late. The Murrays
buried their child on the mainland and never returned to Bird Island.
Bird Island Light was taken out of service on June 15, 1933. It’s a lucky thing
nobody was living there five years later, when the hurricane of '38 destroyed
every building except the lighthouse tower.
Since 1966, the island has been owned by the Town of Marion. In 1994, the Bird
Island Preservation Society was formed. The Society raised funds for restoration,
and the comeback was capped by a relighting ceremony on July 4, 1997.
You can read more HISTORY of this lighthouse by clicking here
Copyright 2005 by Jeremy D'Entremont,New England Lighthouses
Photos are the property of the author and may not be used without permission.
Photos above from Jeremy D'Entremont.
