SeacoastNH Home

FRESH STUFF DAILY
Seacoast New Hampshire
& South Coast Maine


Discover more than 1,000 places to go

Subscribe to Our Newletter

Name:
Email:
 
Touring | Free Newsletter | Feedback | Buy the Book | The Blog
Home Travel Lighthouses Cleveland Ledge Light
fdb viagra canada Canadian Cialis viagra for sale in canada buy zoloft generic Levitra 10 mg viagra online without prescription viagra online without prescription generic propecia india viagra for sale buy viagra from canada viagra how it works canadian pharmacy viagra cheap prices viagra Male Enhancement Cialis cialis generic drugs from canada cialis daily discountdrugsonline canadianpharmacy vicodine b uy viagra online no prescription canadian pharmacy cialis 5 mg generic propecia cheap online viagra without prescription accutane online Levitra 10 mg n o perscription cialas drugs from canada c anadian pharmacy cialis mg vigara 0
Cleveland Ledge Light Print E-mail

Cleveland Ledge Light (c) Jeremy D'Entremont
Bourne, MA

Built 1943
Light is 74 feet above water

This light near the Cape Cod entrance is new by New England standards. It was named after a US President. Guess which one. To get a really good look at this lighthouse you will need a sturdy boat.

Jeremy’s Lighthouse Guide #54

 

 

Cleveland Ledge, eight miles southwest of the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal, is named for President Grover Cleveland, who frequently visited the area to fish. The decision to build a lighthouse here was part of a plan to convert the aids to navigation in Buzzards Bay from their original purpose of serving local navigation to the new purpose of guiding major shipping traffic through the  Cape Cod Canal , which opened in 1914.

On October 7, 1940, the caisson that would serve as the lighthouse’s foundation was towed to the ledge from New London, Connecticut. The 52-foot high caisson was sunk in 21 feet of water, then filled with stone and concrete. On top of the caisson, a two-story building was constructed to house resident keepers, surmounted by a 50-foot reinforced concrete light tower. The sleek architecture of the structure is classified as Art Moderne, a trendy style in the 1930s and ‘40s. The new lighthouse was completed and commissioned on June 1, 1943.

On September 14, 1944, a hurricane battered the area. When the storm hit, a crew comprised of nine men (and a dog) under the command of Lt. Olie P. Swenson were in the lighthouse. During the height of the storm, at about 12:30 a.m., a crash brough the entire crew running to an engine room in the lighthouse’s base. A skylight had partially dislodged, and seawater was flooding the engine room. The men grabbed buckets and began bailing frantically. The water rose to within two inches of the tops of batteries that provided power for the light, but a barricade made of planks and mattresses stopped the water level from rising any higher.

A damaged boat, hanging on davits nearly 40 feet above the sea, indicated how high the waves had reached during the storm. The telephone and radio were dead, but the light had continued to flash through the hurricane.

In 1978, the light was automated, after the laying of an underwater cable to supply power. The Coast Guard crew was reassigned in September 1978, and the lighthouse was sealed off.

The lighthouse remains an active aid to navigation, with a modern 190 millimeter optic displaying a white flash every 10 seconds, and an automated fog horn sounding every 15 seconds. It can be seen distantly from shore but is much better viewed by boat.

For much more on this lighthouse visit Lighthouse.cc

Cleveland Ledge Light / US Coat Guard

Cleveland Ledge Light / D'Entremont Photo

Cleveland Ledge Light from the air / US Coast Guard

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.

 

Please visit these SeacoastNH.com ad partners.

Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner

Portsmouth Herald

Portsmouth Herald Latest Headlines
Portsmouth Herald News from SeacoastOnline.com

Banner
Saturday, July 04, 2009 
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
 

Copyright 1996-2009 SeacoastNH.com. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement
PO Box 7158, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03802 | 603-427-2020

Site by enorm.new.