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Race Point Lighthouse
Facts...
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Photo by Ann-Marie Trapani
Race Point
Lighthouse
Massachusetts
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Year Built:
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1876
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Height of Tower:
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40 feet
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Description:
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White tower
showing a flashing white light |
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every 10
seconds that is visible 16 nautical miles. |
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Location:
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On northwest
point of Cape Cod. – |
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Reference:
1939 U.S. Lighthouse Service Light List |
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Coordinates:
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42 03 45 N…
70 14 35 W |
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Automated:
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1978 |
Status:
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Active aid to
navigation owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and licensed to the American
Lighthouse Foundation. The Cape Cod Chapter – a chapter of the American
Lighthouse Foundation, is dedicated to restoring the historic lighthouse.
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Light Station
Historical Notes:
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The
first lighthouse at Race Point was established on November 5, 1816 and
consisted of a rubblestone tower showing a light 25-feet above sea level. |
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Upgrades
to the light station navigation-wise included the installation of a fog bell
in 1852 and a fourth order Fresnel lens in 1855. By the 1870s a steam-driven
fog signal replaced the outdated bell and in 1874 a second
keeper’s dwelling
was added to the light station. Deterioration to the original rubblestone
tower prompted the U.S. Lighthouse Service to build the present day
lighthouse in 1876. The structure was described as being a 45-feet tall,
built of cast-iron construction and lined with brick. The lighthouse was
electrified in 1957 and in 1960 the Coast Guard tore down the larger |
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keeper’s
dwelling. The light’s last resident keepers were removed in 1978. The
U.S. Coast Guard leased the light station to the American Lighthouse
Foundation in 1995. Race Point Light now offers overnight stays to
guests wishing to experience lighthouse life on the remote and sandy
beaches of Cape Cod.
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U.S. Coast Guard Photo
Race Point Lighthouse
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(Information
courtesy of ALF Historian Jeremy D’Entremont)
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To learn more about Race Point
Lighthouse and how you can help the Cape Cod Chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation save this
historic beacon
click
here! |
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