Keeper George Worthylake first lighted a stone tower on Little Brewster Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor on September 14, 1716. Worthylake lived on Little Brewster with his wife and two daughters, and also an African slave named Shadwell.

On November 3, 1718, Worthylake was returning from Boston with his wife, their daughter Ruth, and a family friend. They anchored their sloop near the island and Shadwell came out in a canoe to transfer the party to the island.

Suddenly witnesses saw the party "swimming or floating on the water, with their boat Oversett" as the apparently overloaded vessel capsized. All five drowned. Benjamin Franklin, twelve years old at the time, was urged by his brother to write a poem based on the disaster. Young Franklin wrote a poem called "The Lighthouse Tragedy" and hawked copies on the streets of Boston. He referred to it years later as "wretched stuff."

By 1989 the Coast Guard had automated every lighthouse in the United States and Boston Light was scheduled to be the last in this process. Preservation groups appealed to Congress and the Coast Guard, and with the help of Senator Edward M. Kennedy funding was appropriated to keep Coast Guard staff on Little Brewster. In September 2003, Sally Snowman was appointed as the new civilian keeper -- the first woman keeper in the lighthouse's long history.

The National Park Service runs daily trips to the island, Friday through Sunday, mid-May through mid-October. For reservations or information call 617-223-8666. The Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands also run several special trips to Little Brewster Island every summer.

For much more on the HISTORY of this lighthouse, visit

Copyright 2004 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.