Cleveland East Ledge Light

Cleveland East Ledge Light is a historic lighthouse in Falmouth, Massachusetts. It sits on a man-made island in shallow water on the eastern of the two halves of Cleveland Ledge, which is said to have been named for President Grover Cleveland because he owned the nearby Gray Gables estate and used to fish in the area. It marks the east side of the beginning of the dredged channel leading to the Cape Cod Canal and is the first fixed mark when going northbound through the canal. As it is an important mark in an area subject to fog, it has a racon showing the letter "C".[1]

Cleveland East Ledge Light
LocationFalmouth, Massachusetts
Coordinates41°37′51.47″N 70°41′39.046″W
Year first constructed1943
Automated1978
FoundationConcrete and rock caisson
ConstructionReinforced concrete
Tower shapeCylindrical on square dwelling
Markings / patternWhite tower
red-brown caisson
black lantern
Tower height21 metre 
Focal height74 feet (23 m)
Original lens4th order Fresnel lens
Current lens7.5 inches (190 mm)
Range15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 10s
Fog signalHorn, one every 15s
Racon"C" (Charlie)
Admiralty numberJ0502
ARLHS numberUSA-179
USCG number1-16080[1][2][3]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Cleveland Ledge Light Station
Nearest cityFalmouth, Massachusetts
Arealess than one acre
Architectural styleModerne, Art Moderne
MPSLighthouses of Massachusetts TR
NRHP reference No.87001462[4]
Added to NRHPJune 15, 1987

Structure

The lighthouse is built atop a caisson 52 feet in diameter, which also contains the lighthouse's engine room. The first two floors of the lighthouse serve as living and working space, on top of which sits the cylindrical concrete tower which is another 50 feet tall.[5]

History

The lighthouse was built between 1940 and 1943 after a re-dredging of the Cape Cod Canal in the late 1930s, which allowed larger ships to pass through and necessitated the marking of Cleveland East Ledge, which sits quite close to the path of ships approaching the south entrance to the canal.[5] The state of Massachusetts began the project, but in 1941 turned it over to the Coast Guard, which, after delays caused by the war, completed it in 1943.[2]

In 1978, the laying of an underwater cable to the lighthouse allowed its automation, obviating the need for the 4-man Coast Guard crew which had manned the light since its 1943 inauguration. The lighthouse was sealed and would remain unoccupied for much of the next 3 decades, apart from a 3-week renovation by the Coast Guard in 1990.[5] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Cleveland Ledge Light Station in 1987.[4]

Without regular maintenance, the lighthouse fell into disrepair. After putting the lighthouse on the market in 2007 generated very little interest, the General Services Administration put the lighthouse up for auction in October 2010. The bidding lasted into December. The winning party purchased the lighthouse for $190,000. It is now owned by the Cleveland Ledge Lighthouse, LLC.

See also

References
  1. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 143.
  2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  3. Rowlett, Russ (2009-12-16). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southeast Massachusetts". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. "Cleveland Ledge Lighthouse". Retrieved 27 February 2016.
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