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Naushon Island, about seven
miles long and 5,000 acres in area, is the largest of the Elizabeth
Islands, a chain of 16 islands that extend about 16 miles westward
into Buzzards Bay from Falmouth on Cape Cod.
Naushon Island's name comes from the local Indians' name for
the entire chain, "Nashanow," thought to mean "midway
islands," referring to the islands' position separating
Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay.
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- The first Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse,
U.S. Coast Guard photo
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Naushon was long used for the pasturing of livestock, with;
there were as many as 2,000 sheep on the island in the early
nineteenth century. Tarpaulin Cove, on the east shore of the
island, was for many years a bustling little place where the
local farmers did business with the crews of incoming vessels.
Seamen traveling through Vineyard Sound often stopped for
a meal or a night's stay at a tavern run for many years in by
Zaccheus Lumbert. Lumbert established an early navigational light
in 1759, for the "public good of Whalemen & Coasters."
Lumbert and his successors maintained the light for nearly six
decades. 
Illustration of the first (1817) lighthouse at Tarpaulin Cove. National Archives. The waters of Vineyard Sound were among the busiest in the
world in the early 1800s. The first government appropriation
for a proper lighthouse at Tarpaulin Cove was made in 1807, but
no action was taken for another decade. The federal government
paid $216 for suitable property for the establishment of a lighthouse
on the west side of Tarpaulin Cove in 1817.
A rubblestone tower -- described as 38 feet tall in some sources,
but reported as 25 feet tall in Lt. Edward W. Carpender's 1838
inspection -- was built for a little over $6,000. It went into
service in October 1817, exhibiting a fixed white light 71 feet
above the water. John Hayden was the first keeper of the light
and remained at Tarpaulin Cove for at least 25 years.
Hayden's statement for engineer I. W. P. Lewis's 1843 survey
painted a dire picture:
The tower is leaky from top to bottom, so that I have to
cut the ice off the staircase in winter. All the staircase and
window frames are more or less rotten -- the landing of the stairs
dangerous to tread upon. The lantern sweats so as to make quantities
of ice on the glass and floor. The tower is not high enough to
clear the land to the westward, so that the light in that direction
is of no use to vessels near the shore. The dwelling-house leaks
badly about the windows, the frames of which are rotten; cellar
stairs rotten, and ridge boards of the roof old and rotten. .
. . There is a boat-house and landing; the landing is a kind
of trestle bridge made of rough poles, and is nearly knocked
to pieces in the surf. . . .
I consider the establishment was not faithfully built in
the first instance. The plastering is more or less fallen off
in the chambers and sides of the other rooms; chimneys are all
smoky, and the house cold and uncomfortable. | 
- The present Tarpaulin Cove Light
in the late 19th century
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Lewis recommended a new tower, reporting the "whole establishment
in a dilapidated state." An 1850 inspection praised Hayden
and indicated that repairs had improved life at the station somewhat.
Light-house is in good order. Some repairs to the work
to the dwelling have been made since I supplied last year, such
as a new outside cellar door; and lighting apparatus is in good
order and clean; and, in fact, so is the whole establishment.
Keeper is a hard-working, likely man, and has brought up a large
family.
A fifth-order Fresnel lens from L. Sautter and Company of
Paris was installed in 1856. In April 1870, the characteristic
was changed from a fixed white light to fixed white punctuated
by brighter flashes every 30 seconds.
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In 1888, the old stone house was replaced, and in 1891 a new,
38-foot brick lighthouse tower was built, with an iron lantern
and a fourth-order Fresnel lens. A 1,200-pound fog bell in a
tower with striking machinery was installed. The bell tower was
destroyed in the great hurricane of September 21, 1938.
Frank Davis was keeper in the 1920s. On one occasion a schooner
called the Tanzy Bitters caught fire. Davis rescued two
badly burned men and brought them into the kitchen of the keeper's
house. His wife did her best to treat the men while Davis went
to Martha's Vineyard to get a doctor. The men died, but the doctor
said he couldn't have done more than Mrs. Davis had. While her
husband was away, Mrs. Davis also tended the light.
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- Only the lighthouse tower remains;
the fog bell tower on the right was destroyed in 1938
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After the light was automated in 1941, the house and other
buildings fell into disrepair and were torn down in 1962. The
Fresnel lens was replaced by a modern optic. The lighthouse is
now maintained by the Cuttyhunk Historical Society.
You can read much more about this lighthouse in the book The Lighthouses
of Massachusetts by Jeremy D'Entremont.
Keepers: - (This
list is a work in progress. If you have any information on the keepers
of this lighthouse, I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at nelights@gmail.com.
Anyone copying this list onto another web site does so at their own
risk, as the list is always subject to updates and corrections.)
Zaccheus Lumbert (1759-1764); various
Cove Tavern keepers (1764-1817); John Geyer (1818-1852); Joseph
R. Luce (1852-1853); Nathan Clifford, Jr. (1853-1861); Abraham
C. White (1861-1864) Samuel E. Skiff (1864-1869); William E.
Skiff (1869-1871); Richard Norton (1871-1882); Calvin N. Adams
(1882-1886); Frank S. Carson (1886-1910); George T. Gustavus
(1910-?); George A. Howard (1910-1912); Frederick W. Field (1912-1916);
Carl Hill (1916-1920); Frank Allen Davis (1920-1928); Tolman
Spencer (1928-1941).
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