Thacher Island Twin Lights
Rockport, Massachusetts

This National Historic Landmark off the coast of Rockport boasts twin granite lighthouses 124' tall. Accessible by small boat and kayaks.

Thacher Island was first sighted by Samuel de Champlain in 1605, by Captain John Smith in 1614, and by how many more before that nobody knows. The Island was later named for Anthony Thacher, an Englishman whose vessel, the Watch and Wait, was wrecked in a ferocious storm near the Island in 1635 on its way to Marblehead from Ipswich. Thacher and his wife, Elizabeth, were the only survivors of the wreck in which 21 people died. Four of Thacher's children, and his cousin, Reverend John Avery, died along with his wife and six children. On September 3, 1635, the General Court awarded Anthony Thacher the Island "at the head of Cape Ann" to recompense him for his losses, and he originally dubbed the Island "Thacher's Woe". The Island remained in the Thacher family for 80 years. It eventually was bought back by the Massachusetts colonial government at a cost of 500 pounds for the purpose of establishing a lighthouse station.

The first twin lighthouses, each 45 feet tall , were erected and lighted for the first time on December 21, 1771. The twin lights soon gained the nickname "Ann's Eyes". They were also the last lighthouses built under British rule in the colonies. The current granite towers built in 1861 stand 124 feet tall and tower 165 feet above the sea.

By 1932 after the government had proposed to eliminate one of the lights in the north tower because the south tower had been intensified to 70,000 candlepower, making the light visible for over 40 miles. Around that time the U.S.Coast Guard was put in charge of all lighthouses in the country and thus ended the civilian lighthouse keeper system. In 1980 the Coast Guard automated the light and fog signal and moved off the Island. During that year the Thacher Island Association was formed and chose a caretaker to live on the Island and initiated restoration efforts. Since that time a succession of civilian keepers have volunteered to be resident keepers and numerous restoration projects have been completed.

U.S. Department of the Interior designated Cape Ann Light Station on Thacher Island as a National Historic Landmark, making it only the ninth lighthouse station, and one of fewer than 2500 sites nationwide to receive that designation.

The southern two thirds of the Island was given to the Town of Rockport by the U.S. Coast Guard in 2002. The northern end is owned by the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service and is leased by the town. The Island is now maintained and operated by a partnership of the Thacher Island Town Committee and the Thacher Island Association. The twin lights of Thacher Island can be viewed from a variety of spots along the Cape Ann Shore and can be seen more closely from sight seeing cruises in the area. The Island is open to anyone who is able to get there on their own using small boats or kayaks. Larger craft cannot land on the ramp, but there is a guest mooring available to the public on a short-term basis.
- Text courtesy of www.lighthouse.cc

For more information, please visit www.thacherisland.org, www.lighthouse.cc/thacher/history.html, or email info@thacherisland.org.

Nearby Area Sites

• Halibut Point State Park
• Beauport Museum, Sleeper-McCann House
• Cape Ann Historical Museum
• Gloucester Adventure
• Gloucester Central Historic District
• Sargent House Museum
• Stage Fort Park and Welcoming Center