A new major shipping channel into Boston Harbor, the Broad Sound Channel, opened in the early 20th century, necessitating the building of a lighthouse at the ledges known as the Graves. The granite for the tower was cut at Cape Ann. Rock on the ledges was blasted and the foundation was laid just four feet above the low tide mark.

A schooner transported materials from Lovell's Island, 3 1/2 miles away, to the Graves, and a 75-foot steamer transported workers to the site. A shanty was constructed on the highest ledge of the Graves, connected to the wharf by a 90-foot elevated walkway. The shanty had living quarters, a storeroom, a blacksmith shop, and a kitchen, and up to 30 men lived there in the summers of 1903 and 1904.

The summer of 1904 saw the lighthouse reach a height of 88 feet. The following year construction was completed. On the night of September 1, 1905, Graves Light's first keeper, Elliot C. Hadley, lighted the most powerful light in Massachusetts history for the first time. The gigantic lens rotated on 400 pounds of mercury.

The keepers' bedrooms were on the fourth and fifth stories. "It's like living in a tube," said one keeper. The entrance to the lighthouse was at the top of a 40-foot ladder, which made entry difficult in rough weather. In 1910 Keeper Hadley described the conditions at Graves Light in storms:

"I've been knocked down by it on the wharf beside the light, and opening a window to look out more than halfway up the tower, I've had as much as three buckets-full dashed in my face."

In 1938 the 419-foot freighter City of Salisbury, remembered as the "Zoo Ship" for its cargo of exotic animals, struck a reef not far from the Graves. There was no loss of human life. The ship became a tourist attraction for a few months before it finally split in two and sank.

In 1947 Graves Light served as a filming location to a movie crew working on the David O. Selznick production, Portrait of Jennie, starring Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones. Graves Light was supposed to be an abandoned Cape Cod lighthouse where Cotten's character went to paint in solitude. The crew spent 10 days in and around the lighthouse.

Graves Light was automated in 1976. Its Fresnel lens, 12 feet high and nine feet in diameter, sits in storage at the Smithsonian Institution. Today, crews working at the lighthouse usually arrive by helicopter, landing on a small platform next to the tower. You can get excellent views of Graves Light from various excursion boats, and distant views from the towns of Winthrop, Nahant, and Hull.

For much more HISTORY of 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.