Nantucket is an island about 30 miles (50 km) south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget,it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket,a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is the only such consolidated town-county in Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census,the population was 14,255,making it the least populated county in Massachusetts. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket CDP,or census-designated place. The region of Surfside on Nantucket is the southernmost settlement in Massachusetts.
Leading lights,also known as range lights in the United States,are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel;they may also be used for position fixing. At night,the lights are a form of leading line that can be used for safe navigation. The beacons consist of two lights that are separated in distance and elevation,so that when they are aligned,with one above the other,they provide a bearing. Range lights are often illuminated day and night.
The Baileys Harbor Range Lights are a pair of lighthouses arranged in a range light configuration,located near Baileys Harbor in Door County,Wisconsin,United States.
Brant Point Light is a lighthouse located on Nantucket Island. The station was established in 1746,automated in 1965,and is still in operation. The current tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 28,1987;it has the distinction of being the tenth light on the point,in addition to several range lights. Four of the others burned or blew down,two were condemned,two were unsatisfactory,and the remaining one stands unused.
United States lightship Nantucket (LV-112) is a National Historic Landmark lightship that served at the Lightship Nantucket position. She was the last serving lightship and at time of its application as a landmark,one of only two capable of moving under their own power. She served as the lightship for such notable vessels as the liners United States,Queen Mary,and Normandie.
Edgartown Harbor Light is a lighthouse located in Edgartown,Massachusetts,United States,where it marks the entrance to Edgartown Harbor and Katama Bay. It is one of five lighthouses on the island of Martha's Vineyard. The first lighthouse,a two-story wooden structure that also served as the keeper's house,was constructed in 1828. It was demolished,and replaced by the current cast-iron tower,in 1939. Originally located on an artificial island 1/4 miles from shore,the lighthouse is now surrounded by a beach formed,since 1939,by sand accumulating around the stone causeway connecting it to the mainland.
The Cape Ann Light Station on Thacher Island,off Cape Ann in Rockport,Massachusetts,is nationally significant as the last light station to be established under colonial rule and the first station in the United States to mark a navigational hazard rather than a harbor entrance. The current pair of lighthouses were built in 1861. They were both equipped with first order Fresnel lenses,which stood approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) high and weighed several tons (tonnes).
Palmer Island Light Station is a historic lighthouse in New Bedford Harbor in New Bedford,Massachusetts,USA. The lighthouse was built in 1849 out of stone rubble. It was discontinued when the harbor's hurricane barrier was built in the early 1960s,as its location immediately north of the barrier was no longer an outlying danger and there are lights on either side of the barrier opening.
West Dennis Light is a lighthouse in West Dennis,Massachusetts. It was previously known as Bass River Light. It is owned by and sits on top of the Lighthouse Inn,a seasonal hotel.
Marshall Point Light Station is a lighthouse at the entrance of Port Clyde Harbor in Port Clyde,Maine. The light station was established in 1832.
Deer Island Light is a lighthouse in Boston Harbor,Boston,Massachusetts. The actual light is 53 feet (16 m) above Mean High Water. Its alternating white and red light is visible for 9 nautical miles.
Stage Harbor Light is a lighthouse in Chatham,Massachusetts. It was built in 1880. It was discontinued in 1933,replaced by a skeleton tower 200 ft (60m) west which remains an active aid to navigation. The original light helped to mark a vessel staging area anchorage in deep water south of Harding's Beach used during periods of low visibility (fog) by vessels waiting to round Monomoy Point and Pollock Rip Channel. The lighthouse also lined up perfectly with the Chatham Twin Lights,making an effective range for Chatham Roads,the deep water channel crossing Nantucket Sound from south of Bishop &Clerks Reef off Point Gammon at Hyannis to the staging area. The original light is now a private residence. It sits at the entrance of what is still a busy harbor,used primarily by Chatham-based fishing fleets,sailboats from the Stage Harbor and Monomoy yacht clubs,and private craft owners.
The Nantucket Harbor Range Lights are range lights that were built in 1908 to guide vessels through the narrow channel to Nantucket Harbor. They replaced an older arrangement involving the Nantucket Beacon and the Brant Point Light,which became unusable when the latter was replaced with a new tower.
The Nantucket Beacon formed a range with the Brant Point Light to guide vessels into Nantucket harbor. Operated at various times in the 19th century,it was deactivated sometime after 1870. This range was eventually succeeded by the Nantucket Harbor Range Lights,which are still in operation.
The Spectacle Island Range Lights were a pair of range lights on Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor. They were established in 1897 and discontinued in 1913 after changes in the entrance channels to the harbor made them obsolete.
The Hyannis Rear Range Light,also known as the Hyannis Harbor Light,was a lighthouse and,for part of its life,one of a pair of range lights adjacent to Hyannis Harbor. The Range Rear tower was built in 1849 and equipped with a 5th order Fresnel lens in 1856. In 1863 the original birdcage lantern was replaced with a new cast iron one. In 1885,a front range light was added on the Old Colony Railroad Wharf,and the two lights together served to leading vessels to the wharf. The 20 foot Range Rear tower is shorter than most lighthouses,as its purpose was just to guide ships to the wharf. In the early 1800s,the railroad extended from its current terminus at the Hyannis Transportation Center,down what is now Old Colony Road to Harbor Road,where it ended in the 300 foot wharf that was a busy area for shipping coal,lumber,grain and fish.
The Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Light is a lighthouse located off M-28 in Munising Township,Michigan. It is also known as the Bay Furnace Rear Range Light,Christmas Rear Range Light,or End of the Road Light. The corresponding front range light was replaced in 1968;the rear range light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It is no longer an active aid to navigation.
The Hospital Point Range Rear Light is part of a pair of range lights in Beverly,Massachusetts. It is located in the steeple of the First Baptist Church of Beverly.
Nantucket Range Lights could refer to any of three sets of range lights on Nantucket:
