Fall River, Massachusetts
Built 1881. Light is 47 feet above water.
One Borden Flats lighthouse keeper made a daring rescue. Another was frozen in for an entire month. To read more about this cast iron lighthouse on a Fall River reef, click above.
For a number of years before this lighthouse was built to warn of a dangerous reef at the mouth of the Taunton River, an unlighted day beacon marked the spot. On June 16, 1880, $25,000 was appropriated and construction on a proper lighthouse soon commenced.
A cylindrical cast-iron caisson was sunk in place on the reef, and then filled with concrete. A cast-iron tower, which doubled as living quarters for a keeper, was erected on the caisson, and the light went into service on October 1, 1881.
Joseph Meyer was keeper on October 8, 1907, when a severe storm hit the area. In the station's log, Meyer wrote:
Violent SW gale. Occasional heavy squalls. 11 am – A barge of about 800 tons of coal sank in the harbor – two men drowned, and a sloop of 10 tons was wrecked on the beach.
In early 1912, the area around the lighthouse was completely frozen over and Meyer was stranded at the lighthouse for nearly a month.
John H. Paul became keeper in July 1912 and stayed until 1927. In the mid-afternoon of August 3, 1912, Paul was involved in a dramatic rescue. Two Fall River men were passing near the lighthouse in a rowboat. As the men attempted to change places, the boat overturned. Paul saw the accident and immediately launched his boat. One of the men was unable to swim and was lost in the waves. The other man clung to the overturned boat and was swiftly rescued by Paul, who later received a bronze Carnegie lifesaving medal.
The lighthouse was battered in the hurricane of September 21, 1938. A new, much wider cylindrical caisson was subsequently added around the old one to provide more protection.
The light was automated in the spring of 1963, and the last Coast Guard crew of four was reassigned. The light was converted to solar power in 1989, ending reliance on a submarine electrical cable. In September 2006, it was announced that the lighthouse would be available to a suitable applicant under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.
OUTSIDE LINKS
Borden Flats Light web site
MORE on this lighthouse history here
Copyright 2006 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.
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Fall River, Massachusetts
