page_title: Chatham Light
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Chatham Light / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Chatham Massachusetts Lighthouse showing 1841 towers. USA. See talk page for discussion of date.
context_page_description: Chatham Lighthouse, known as Twin Lights prior to 1923, is a lighthouse in Chatham, Massachusetts, near the "elbow" of Cape Cod. The original station, close to the shore, was built in 1808 with two wooden towers that were replaced in 1841 in spite of questions as to why a single tower would not be adequate. In 1877, two new towers, made of cast iron rings, replaced those. One of the towers was moved to the Eastham area and became Nauset Light in 1923.
context_section_description: The station was established in 1808; it was the second light station on Cape Cod.  To distinguish it from Highland Light, the first Cape Cod light, and to act as a range, twin octagonal 40-foot (12 m) wooden towers were built.  They were on skids so that they could be moved to keep them in line with the entrance channel as it shifted. Samuel Nye was appointed as the first Keeper of the Chatham Lights by President Jefferson on October 7, 1808. The light had an interesting history afterwards.
  1841 The wood octagonal towers are replaced with two 40-foot (12 m) brick towers
  1857 Fourth order Fresnel lenses are installed, fueled by lard oil
  1877 New twin towers of brick lined cast iron and a keeper's dwelling are built further from the shore, because of concerns caused by erosion
  1893 A brick oil house is added
  1923 Northern tower of the pair is moved roughly 12 miles (19 km) north to become Nauset Light
  1939 Chatham Light, kerosene fueled since 1882, and rotated via a clockwork drive, is converted to electricity; the light remains active during WWII
  1969 The Fresnel lens is moved to Atwood House Museum, replaced with a Carlisle & Finch rotating light generating over 2.8 million candlepower
  1982 Automated
  1983 Aerobeacons installed in the lantern room
  1993 New DCB-224 aerobeacons are installed
  Chatham Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Chatham Light Station on June 15, 1987, reference number 87001501.
caption: The 1841 brick towers
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