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Newburyport is Massachusetts'
smallest city, with a population of 16,500. In the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries, the city -- about two miles from the
mouth of the Merrimack River -- was a center for shipbuilding
and maritime trade. The first revenue cutter commissioned by
the federal government was built there in 1790 by shipbuilder
William Searle. This has earned Newburyport a claim to the title
"Birthplace of the Coast Guard."
The Newburyport Harbor Range Light Station was established
in 1873 to help mariners entering Newburyport Harbor. There may
have been some form of range lights in the vicinity as far back
as 1790.
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- The rear range light
- U.S. Coast Guard
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In 1873 the Lighthouse Board reported:
Two range lights to guide up the River Merrimack to the
city of Newburyport have been established in the same position
as the private lights before maintained by subscription, and
were lighted June 1, 1873. The front light is on an iron tower,
conical in form, 14 feet six inches high, located on Bayley's
new wharf, and the focal plane is 25 feet above the sea. The
rear light is about 350 feet... from the front light, on a brick
tower, pyramidal in form, 32 feet high, and the focal plane is
47 feet above the sea.
In addition to serving as a guide into the harbor, the lights
helped vessels avoid a dangerous reef called Goose Rocks.
The front range light was altered early in its history, when
a shingled, hexagonal wooden section was added to the top of
the cast-iron tower. The rear tower was raised to its present
height of 53 feet in 1901.
The upper wooden part of the front tower was similar in appearance
to the Doubling Point Range Lights on the Kennebec River in Maine.
This section was later raised by several feet making the tower's
total height 35 feet.
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The range lights were discontinued in 1961. In 1964 the front
range tower was moved a short distance to the grounds of Coast
Guard Station Merrimack River.
The tower was later damaged by fire, and in 1990 it was changed
back to a more traditional appearance with the restoration of
its original iron lantern.
After its decommissioning, the rear range light was bought
by a private party. In 1999 the Lighthouse Preservation Society,
based in Newburyport, launched a $65,000 fundraising campaign
to renovate the front range light. Some renovation and painting
of the tower has taken place in recent years.
Developer David Hall has been responsible for some refurbishing
of the rear range light, which he owns on Water Street. The Lighthouse
Preservation Society offers gourmet dinners at the top of the
Rear Range Light; call (800) 727-BEAM for information.
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- The front range light in the 1980s.
Photo by Kenneth Kochel.
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- Inside the Front Range Light
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- The two range lights seen from the
water
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Both Newburyport Harbor Range Lights are listed on the National
Register of Historic Places. They are easily accessible by land.
Newburyport, with its diverse architecture and countless shops
and restaurants, is a favorite tourist destination.
To help with the restoration of the front range light, contact
the Lighthouse
Preservation Society.
You can read more about these lighthouses in the book The Lighthouses
of Massachusetts by Jeremy D'Entremont.
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- Plaque on the front range tower
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- Keepers: George W. Stickney (June 1, 1873 -
October 7, 1886); Matthew F. Barrett (1886-1889 and 1893-1908);
Edwin F. Hunt (1889-1893); Bernard W. Barrett (1908-?)
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