Nantucket Range Lights

This article is about the historic lights. For the current range in Nantucket Harbor, see Nantucket Harbor Range Lights.

Nantucket Range Lights (rear)

The Rear Light U.S. Coast Guard Photo
Location	On rising ground, about one mile in rear of Brant Point Light
Coordinates	41°16′28″N 70°5′4″W / 41.27444°N 70.08444°W / 41.27444; -70.08444Coordinates: 41°16′28″N 70°5′4″W / 41.27444°N 70.08444°W / 41.27444; -70.08444
Year first constructed	1794
Year first lit	1869 (last tower of this set)
Deactivated	1908
Foundation	Sills on wood posts
Construction	Wood
Tower shape	Pyramidal
Markings / pattern	White
Original lens	21" reflector
Characteristic	Fixed White
Fog signal	none [1] [2]

Brant Point Light (1856)

Brant Point Light, the front light of the range U.S. Coast Guard photo
Location	Brant Point, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Coordinates	41°17′23″N 70°5′33″W / 41.28972°N 70.0925°W / 41.28972; -70.0925
Year first lit	1856 (current tower)
Deactivated	1908
Foundation	Concrete and granite
Construction	Brick
Tower shape	Cylindrical tower
Markings / pattern	Various
Original lens	4th order Fresnel lens
ARLHS number	USA-1094 [1] [2]

The Nantucket Range Lights formed a range established to guide vessels down the narrow channel into Nantucket Harbor. They were a predecessor to the current Nantucket Harbor Range Lights.

The front light was the then current tower of Brant Point Light, built in 1856. The rear light, beginning in 1869 was a wood structure "on rising ground, about one mile in rear of Brant Point lighthouse, which could be moved to accommodate changes in the location of the channel." Before that it was a light in the keeper's hut.^[1].

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMA.asp. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Rowlett, Russ (2009-09-14). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southeast Massachusetts". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/ma2.htm.