Highland Light, Massachusetts

HL439 Great Lighthouses of the World

A bright beacon pierces through the misty fog, searing a path through the thick vapor. A disoriented captain spots the fleeting, yet intense signal. He is still thirty miles from the eastern coast of Cape Cod, but with his position affirmed, he sighs with relief. Although his maritime maps might tell him that he just spotted the Cape Cod Light, he affectionately calls her "Highland." 

As only the seventh light constructed by the U.S. Government, Highland is rich in historic significance and nautical heritage. With the authority of George Washington , the Government approached citizen Isaac Small about purchasing a plot of land from him, ten acres to be exact. After selecting a strategic spot atop the 120-foot tall cliff, workers built a wooden sentinel, placing it 500 feet back from the edge. The Lightkeeper then set the lanterns ablaze and illuminated the skies in the late 1790’s .

But the wood in first lighthouse did not fare well in the erosive, salty air. The structure was deemed unsafe and replaced by a second tower in 1831 . That brick structure, not constructed properly, was dismantled twenty-five years later. The ensuing sentinel was built right. It was built to last. It would endure.

Highland Lighthouse, as we know it now, was first lit in 1857 , and is still operational to this day. Although the pounding oceans carved away 400 feet of the cliffs over the last century, Highland never faltered. Her only darkened time came when preservationists moved the lighthouse further inland in a pre-emptive strike against tragic loss.

Now, future generations will be able to appreciate her Queen Ann-style house, her charming tower, and her attached walkway. The first-order Fresnel lens, largely destroyed during removal, is displayed in the museum. The present optic, a VRB-25, shines from a focal plane of 183 feet above sea level. When it's not visible because of weather or fog, a signal can be heard by ships as it sends out a radio beacon every six minutes.

Highland Lighthouse preserves both history and lives. Just as it’s done for the last 200 or more years... just as it will for years to come. Pay her a visit. She is waiting to share her stories with you. 

Highland Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation, its Keepers Quarters are used as a museum and is owned by National Park Service.