Annisquam Light

Annisquam Light by Jeremy D'Entremont Gloucester, MA
Est 1801, rebuilt 1851 & 1897

Congress appropriated $2,000 in April 1800 for a lighthouse at Wigwam Point, the northwesterly point of Annisquam village. The name stems from the long use of the point as a summer gathering place for local Indians

Jeremy’s Lighthouse Guide #59

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The Annisquam River, technically an estuary that’s open to the ocean at both ends, separates most of Cape Ann — and most of the city of Gloucester — from the mainland. The northern end of the river opens into Ipswich Bay, and the southern end connects to Gloucester Harbor via the Blynman Canal. The cozy Annisquam village grew up on the east side of the river’s northern end beginning in 1631. The village grew into a fishing and shipbuilding center that rivaled Gloucester Harbor in its early days.

The first lighthouse was a 32-foot wooden tower. George Day, a Gloucester native who was born in 1769, became the first keeper at a yearly salary of $200. Day was still in charge when the civil engineer I. W. P. Lewis examined the station in 1842. By this time the tower was in such bad shape that it was propped up with several wooden spars.

Annisquam Light on Lighthouse.cc

About 10 years earlier, rats had undermined the chimney of the dwelling. Day summed up the situation: "I consider the whole establishment to be in a very dilapidated and ruinous state."

The 1801 lighthouse outlasted George Day’s stay as keeper by a few months. William Dade became the light’s new keep er hin 1850, and a new 40-foot octagonal wooden lighthouse tower was built during the following year. The original keeper’s house was repaired and remained in use. It still stands today, enlarged and altered over the years.

The present 41-foot cylindrical brick lighthouse tower was built in 1897, on the same foundation as the previous two towers. Inspections in the 1990s found that iron beams in the tower, installed to support a landing below the lantern level, had badly rusted, which caused the upper part of the tower to lift more than three inches. The beams needed to be replaced, along with about five to six feet of brickwork all the way around the tower.

The Campbell Construction Group of Beverly, Massachusetts, removed and replaced about 3,000 bricks in the tower during the restoration, which was completed in August 2000.

This little lighthouse has been likened to a "candle in a window" by Cape Ann historian Joseph Garland, and it’s certainly one of the prettiest seaside scenes in New England. A Coast Guard family lives at the station. There is limited parking, but visitors should respect the privacy of the residents. For more history of this light visit Lighthouse.cc.

Gloucester, MA lighthouse (c) Jeremy D'Entremont

Early postcard of Annisquam Light on Wigwam Point in Gloucester, MA

Cape Ann lighthouse by Jeremy D'Entremont

Cape Ann lighthouse postcard / courtesy Lighthouse.cc

Lighthouse on Annisquam River and Ipswich Bay, GLoucester, MA at Cape Ann/ Jeremy D'Entremont

Copyright 2007 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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