Oh What a Light
(A little wink to the 1960s classic “Oh, What a Night”)
Boston Light is like an old war hero — weathered, stubborn, and full of stories it never quite shares. It has guarded the entrance to Boston Harbor for more than three centuries, and those stones have seen everything from calm seas to cannon fire.
Built in 1716, Boston Light is the oldest continually used lighthouse in the United States. Its history reaches straight back to the Revolutionary War.
The first tower stood about 60 feet high and was made from rough island stones. Workers stacked unshaped rubblestone into a tapering tower and held it together with early mortar. It wasn’t fancy, but it worked.
That original lighthouse didn’t survive the war. In 1776, British forces retreated from Boston Harbor and set explosives that destroyed the tower. (Those darn Redcoats!) Boston rebuilt quickly. By 1783, the Commonwealth raised a new lighthouse using the island’s rubblestone once again. This version had thick 7.5‑foot walls and reached 75 feet into the air.
In 1859, the tower needed more height to hold a massive 4,000‑pound Fresnel lens. Builders added another 14 feet, giving the lighthouse the profile we recognize today.
The Modern Boston Light
Boston Light glows bright while Graves Light keeps its quiet watch beyond
The lighthouse on Little Brewster Island blends the 1783 rebuild with the 1859 expansion. It rises 89 feet (102 feet above sea level) and still contains the old rubblestone core, now reinforced with brick. Only the bottom 9 to 14 feet include stones from the original 1716 tower, but that small section connects the modern beacon to its earliest days.
Not bad for a lighthouse that once relied on candlelight.
Today, Boston Light is a National Historic Landmark. By law, it remains permanently manned, even with modern automation. The island isn’t open to the public, but several harbor cruises pass close enough for great views.
At night, the beam reaches 27 miles into the Atlantic. After 300 years, it still calls sailors home.
