NOBSKA LIGHTHOUSE
WOODS HOLE, CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS
Original photo submitted by Meg Nichols
Meg writes..."Nov. 71...Original was built in 1828 and replaced in 1879. When seen straight on from the sea, it appears white, but from the side it assumes a reddish color. This helped orient sailors. [To get to this lighthouse] from Falmouth [take] Route 28 to Woods Hole, turn left onto Church Street, just before Woods Hole Center. Cape Cod [Barnstable County, MA] has more lighthouses than any county in America."
The article below is reprinted with permission
from Historic Times: Newsletter of the Falmouth Historical Society,
Falmouth, Massachusetts, October 1999
Please visit the Website of the Falmouth
Historical Society maintained by Second Vice President Robert Fitzpatrick
(your own Webmaster, Barbara, joined as a Life Member in 1960)
LIGHTHOUSE KEEPING AT NOBKSA POINT LIGHTHOUSE
by Payson A. Jones, Jr.
FSO-LK, Flotilla 11-2 USCG. Auxiliary
Editor's Note: Payson Jones has been a Falmouth resident for 17 years. In his youth, he spent his summers in Megansett, where he is now the assistant harbormaster. He served in the US Naval Air in World War II in the Pacific Theater.
In order to know about lighthouse keeping, you should know about the lighthouse.
The original Nobsque Point Light was built in 1826 at Nobsque Point in Woods Hole. It was a wood cottage with a 16 foot tower attached. An oil house and paint house were built in 1856.
When the original lighthouse outlived its usefulness, the present lighthouse was built of cast iron sections in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and transported to Nobska Point, where it was erected and lined with beautiful brickwork in 1876. It was in the 1880s that the spelling of Nobsque changed to the version we are familiar with today.
The lighthouse's original illumination was from whale oil. In 1888, a fourth order Fresnel lens was installed and it is still in place today. This gave the light much greater visibility. The lens emits 28,000 candle power of usable light. This beam of light has a range of 12 nautical miles. The focal point of the lens is 87 feet above sea level.
We have a lot of children on tours, ages 7 to 10 years old. They ask me questions like, do you live in the house next to the lighthouse? I tell them that I'm not lucky enough to live there. The Commander of the Woods Hole Coast Guard Base lives there with his family.
They also ask how many times does the light in the lantern blink? It blinks every six seconds for 365 days a year without stopping.
What are the three panels covering the back of the light? They are put there in the summer. Why? To keep the light from shining in our neighbors' bedroom windows at night.
Where is the fog horn? It's down on the water side of the street. It was moved there from the lighthouse side of the street, because when it was operating and a car went by, the noise would scare the people to death. The fog horn blasts twice every 30 seconds.
Everything in the lighthouse is automatic, except the lighthouse keeper. Some of the children have very good questions, but most are awed by the height and visibility of the lighthouse. The tower stands 40 feet high and the "hat" or lantern room atop of it adds eight feet to the overall height. Nobska Lighthouse is operated by volunteers of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. The Auxiliary adopted the lighthouse five years ago. I am the second keeper and I have served in that role for three years.
The lighthouse receives 1,500 to 2,800 visitors a year. Public open house programs are held on the following dates: 1) For Christmas By-the-Sea Weekend: Saturday, December 4, from 10 AM to 2:30 PM. Organized by the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce. 2) For Maritime Week: Sunday, May 21, 2000, from 10 AM to 2:30 PM. Organized by the Cape Cod Commission.
If you would like to arrange a tour of the lighthouse, call the Woods Hole Coast Guard Base at 508-457-3219. We would like to have 10 or more persons for pre-arranged tour groups.
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Corrections & Comments to Barbara
This page was last updated on Dec. 1, 2001
