The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-11-12
OLDEST BEACONONCOAST
Boston Light Was First One
Built on American Coast.
ESTABLISHED IN YEAR i71S


From Port Was Burned and
Struck by Lightning = Blown
Up by the British.
The lighthouse at the entrance of
Boston harbor was the first one erect.
ed on the American coast.
For nearly century after the first
settlement of these shores by the Eng
lish, and New York by the Dutch, the
ships that came to America were
Obliged at night to approach the coast
with the utmost caution because there
were no lighthouses to guide them in
to port
Boston light, the first lighthouse es-
tabllshed on the American coast, was
begun in 1715, and finished the next
year. II stood on Little Brewster is
land, where the present Boston light
also stands. Its cost was about $11,-
500, and the bill was paid by the prov
ince of Massachusetts bay.
The first keeper of Boston light,
with his wife and daughter was
drowned two years after he took Of
flee, and Ben Franklin, 12 years of
age, hawked through the streets a
ballad on the catastrophe, printed by
his brother, which in Franlilin's own
words. sold prodigiously, though it
was wretched stuff"
The lighthouse was partly burned
in 1751, probably from an exploding
lamp, and it was also at different
times struck by lightning.
The lighthouse became an object of
concern to both sides in the war of
independence. In the summer of 1775,
while the British fleet was in the har-
Dor, party of Americans from Mil
ton, under Mai. Benjamin Tupper.
went to the light, and set fire to the
tower. The fire destroyed the wood
work of the lantern, and the glass.
Admiral Samuel Graves in command
of the fleet, sent a guard of so marines
TO the lighthouse. In September, 1775
the guard was attacked by force of
300 men under Maj. Tupper, which
killed 12 men and took the others Of
the guard prisoners, besides several
artisans" at work on the lighthouse,
and fired all the buildings on the
island and demolished the upper part
of the tower.
had fallen, and the Americans could
not get away in their boats. The Brit
ish observed their plight and sent
party to attack them One of the
British boats was sunk and several
of the crew were lost. Mai Tupper
killed and three wounded. The Brit
ish loss was So men killed or taken
prisoners by the Americans. Wash
ington thanked Maj. Tupper and his
men in general orders for their gal
liant service at the light.
When the British evacuated Boston
they did not leave the bay at once,
but fingered to do as much damage as
possible on the islands in the har-
Dor. When finally they left the ports
they sent boats to the lighthouse from
the warship Benown, which took off a
party of regulars then stationed there,
and blew up the tower. This was the
last hostile act of the British before
leaving for Halifax.
The cost of maintaining the light
was betrayed by a tax known as
lighthouse dues, imposed on all ship
ping. except coastwise, entering or
leaving the port of Boston. In 1889
this tax was one shilling a ton on for
eign vessels, and 21s pence on domes-
tic shipping,
Boston light could properly be call
ed "the" lighthouse for A years, or
until light was built at Sandy Hook.
Other ports saw the value of q fixed
and reliable guide to shipping. but
progress was slow at best, in building
lighthouses on coast so long as that
of the colonies. and as late as Aug
T. 1889, when the United States took
over the title to the lighthouse in the
various seaboard states, there were
but eight lights on the Atlantic coast,
and none on the gulf-Boston Globe.