Gloucester, MA
Est. 1821; present light built 1881
Tower 30 feet, light 57 feet above water.

To help guide mariners into Gloucester's inner harbor, the first 20-foot stone lighthouse was built here in 1821. Amos Story of sea serpent fame became keeper in 1833 for $350 yearly.

Jeremy’s Lighthouse Guide #48

There are at least four different stories floating around Gloucester that are offered as explanations of how Ten Pound Island got its name. One of the most popular (but not necessarily true) tales is that it stems from the amount of money the early settlers paid the Indians for it. Another of the more colorful explanations is that a ten-pound cannonball fired from Stage Fort across the harbor could reach as far as the island.

The island achieved notoriety in 1817 when several people reported seeing a large sea serpent on the ledges on the island's eastern side. One of the witnesses was Amos Story, who said, " I should judge I saw fifty feet of him at least."

In the summer of 1880 the great American artist Winslow Homer boarded with the keeper. That summer, Homer painted about fifty scenes of Gloucester Harbor. Ten Pound Island appears in some of these scenes, and also can be seen in some of the paintings of Gloucester artist Fitz Hugh Lane.

A new 30-foot cast-iron lighthouse tower was built in 1881 along with a new wooden keeper's house. In 1925 a Coast Guard air station was put on the island, with one small scout plane. Later two amphibious vehicles were added to the station. The initial purpose of this operation was to catch rumrunners in the area during Prohibition.

In 1956 Ten Pound Island Light was decommissioned and the fifth order Fresnel lens was removed, replaced by a modern optic put on the old bell tower, later moved to a skeleton tower. The Fresnel lens is now at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland, Maine. The keeper's house was reduced to rubble. Ownership of the island reverted to the city of Gloucester.

In the late 1980s the Lighthouse Preservation Society initiated the restoration of the lighthouse. The renovation took over two years to complete. Ten Pound Island Light was relighted as an active aid to navigation on August 7, 1989, in a ceremony complete with fireworks. In 1995 the oil house was restored.

Ten Pound Island Light can be seen from many points along the Gloucester waterfront, including the area around the famous fisherman statue. Closer views are available from tour boats that pass through the harbor, and a water taxi makes stops at the island in season.

FOr much more HISTORY on this lighthouse visit lighthouse.cc

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.