USA - Massachusetts - Boston
Graves Light, Boston Harbor.
The Graves is an aggregation of rock outcroppings in Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts, United States. Situated some 11 miles (18 km) offshore of downtown Boston, it is the outermost island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.
It is the location of The Graves Light, at 113 feet (34 m) tall the tallest lighthouse in Boston Harbor, and an important navigation aid for traffic to and from the port. The island has a permanent size of 1.8 acres, and rises to a height of 15 feet (4.6 m) above sea level; there is only aquatic vegetation on the island. The island is managed by the Coast Guard, and is not open to the public.
The Graves are named after Thomas Graves, a prominent early trader of colonial Massachusetts.
The Graves are northeast of the Roaring Bulls and far northwest of Three and One-half Fathom Ledge. Despite their offshore location, the Graves are within the city limits of Boston.
A new major shipping channel into Boston Harbor, the Broad Sound Channel, opened in the early 1900s, necessitating a lighthouse at the Graves.
In 1902, Congress appropriated $75,000 for a lighthouse and fog signal, and Governor Crane of Massachusetts signed a deed conveying 435,400 square feet at the ledges to the federal government.
The project ultimately cost $188,000, meaning a second appropriation of $113,000 was required in April 1904.
Construction took place from 1903 to 1905, and Royal Luther of Malden, Massachusetts, was in charge. The style of Graves Light is very similar to Maine's Ram Island Ledge Light, built at about the same time.
The granite for the tower was cut at Rockport on Cape Ann. Rock on the ledges was blasted, and the foundation was laid just four feet above the low tide mark. The first 42 feet were completed in the summer of 1903.
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.
While the granite was being put in place, the ironwork was being manufactured in Boston and a huge first-order Fresnel lens was being created in Paris.
The summer of 1904 saw the lighthouse reach a height of 88 feet. Construction was completed during the following year. A granite oil house was built 90 feet south of the tower, reachable by a footbridge.
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 floated on 400 pounds of mercury. After the completion of Graves Light, a Lighthouse Establishment report stated:
At so exposed a site the height necessary for the lantern above the heavier masses of spray, the consequent geographic range, its location so far seaward, the service of the light to the large commerce of Boston and modern ships of deep draft, make it perhaps the most important light north of Cape Cod.
USA - Massachusetts - Boston
Graves Light, Boston Harbor.
The Graves is an aggregation of rock outcroppings in Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts, United States. Situated some 11 miles (18 km) offshore of downtown Boston, it is the outermost island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.
It is the location of The Graves Light, at 113 feet (34 m) tall the tallest lighthouse in Boston Harbor, and an important navigation aid for traffic to and from the port. The island has a permanent size of 1.8 acres, and rises to a height of 15 feet (4.6 m) above sea level; there is only aquatic vegetation on the island. The island is managed by the Coast Guard, and is not open to the public.
The Graves are named after Thomas Graves, a prominent early trader of colonial Massachusetts.
The Graves are northeast of the Roaring Bulls and far northwest of Three and One-half Fathom Ledge. Despite their offshore location, the Graves are within the city limits of Boston.
A new major shipping channel into Boston Harbor, the Broad Sound Channel, opened in the early 1900s, necessitating a lighthouse at the Graves.
In 1902, Congress appropriated $75,000 for a lighthouse and fog signal, and Governor Crane of Massachusetts signed a deed conveying 435,400 square feet at the ledges to the federal government.
The project ultimately cost $188,000, meaning a second appropriation of $113,000 was required in April 1904.
Construction took place from 1903 to 1905, and Royal Luther of Malden, Massachusetts, was in charge. The style of Graves Light is very similar to Maine's Ram Island Ledge Light, built at about the same time.
The granite for the tower was cut at Rockport on Cape Ann. Rock on the ledges was blasted, and the foundation was laid just four feet above the low tide mark. The first 42 feet were completed in the summer of 1903.
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.
While the granite was being put in place, the ironwork was being manufactured in Boston and a huge first-order Fresnel lens was being created in Paris.
The summer of 1904 saw the lighthouse reach a height of 88 feet. Construction was completed during the following year. A granite oil house was built 90 feet south of the tower, reachable by a footbridge.
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 floated on 400 pounds of mercury. After the completion of Graves Light, a Lighthouse Establishment report stated:
At so exposed a site the height necessary for the lantern above the heavier masses of spray, the consequent geographic range, its location so far seaward, the service of the light to the large commerce of Boston and modern ships of deep draft, make it perhaps the most important light north of Cape Cod.