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Race Point's name comes from
the strong cross current, known as a "race," that made
this area a nightmare for mariners. Before the construction of
the Cape Cod Canal in 1914, every vessel travelling between Boston
and points south had to negotiate the treacherous bars near Race
Point at the northern tip of Cape Cod. Countless wrecks occurred
in the area through the 18th century, including that of the British
frigate Somerset.
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As early as 1808, the people of Provincetown asked for a lighthouse
at Race Point. Funding for a light station was included in a
cCongressional appropriation of $8,000 on April 27, 1816. Race
Point Light, first lighted on November 5, 1816, was Cape Cod's
third light station after Highland Light and Chatham's twin lights.
The rubblestone tower's light was 25 feet above sea level and
was one of the earliest revolving lights in an attempt to differentiate
it from other lighthouses on Cape Cod.
Over the next few decades a sizeable fishing community and
a saltworks grew up at Race Point. The little community, known
as "Helltown," was even declared a separate school
district in the 1830s.
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- Early photo of the first Race Point
Light
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A tremendous storm swept Cape Cod in October 1841. Provincetown's
neighbor, Truro, lost seven vessels and 57 men in the storm.
Only two crews from Truro survived. Captain Matthias Rich spent
12 hours lashed to the wheel and managed to bring his schooner
Water Witch into Herring Cove near Race Point.
I.W.P. Lewis inspected Race Point Light in 1842. He recognized
the light's importance, but found reason to be critical:
The light is useful to all vessels leaving Boston, and
bound to the eastward, or round the cape, through the South channel;
and also as a point of departure for Provincetown harbor, as
well as Boston. Its illuminating power is, however, so weak that
when a fleet of fishermen are anchored in Herring cove, close
by, a stranger would hardly be able to distinguish it from the
lights set on board these vessels. A reciprocating light of one
good lamp and suitable reflector would be much more efficient
than the present apparatus with ten lamps.
The original lighting system had been devised by I.W.P. Lewis'
uncle, Winslow Lewis. The younger Lewis also reported that the
tower was leaky and had no foundation. The keeper's house, he
said, was "in very good repair, and most neatly kept."
In 1852, a fog bell was installed at Race Point. Three years
later a fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed in the tower.
In the 1870s, the bell was replaced by a steam-driven fog signal
housed in a new building. A second keeper's dwelling was built
in 1874.
It was reported in 1875 that the original lime mortar in the
tower had disappeared and the lighthouse had been covered with
shingles in an attempt to stop leaks. The shingles and the wooden
stairs inside were rotten and the tower needed rebuilding.
The old stone tower was replaced in 1876 by a 45-foot cast-iron
lighthouse, lined with brick. The Fresnel lens was moved to the
new tower and the characteristic was changed from a flash to
a fixed light. It appears that the original keeper's house was
torn down around this time and a new dwelling was built. A water
cistern was added in 1877.
- The second Race Point Light, c. 1890s
- From the collection of Edward Rowe
Snow, courtesy of Dorothy Bicknell
The fishing settlement at Race Point dwindled later in the
1800s. Three keepers and their families lived at the lighthouse
in the two separate keeper's houses. The children had to walk
two and a half miles across soft sand to school each day. In
the 1930s, Keeper James Hinckley made the trip much quicker by
customizing an early Ford into a dune buggy. The trip that took
75 minutes on horseback was shortened to 30 minutes.
- From A Trip to Cape Cod, 1898
Race Point is one of the windiest places on the coast. Keeper
Hinckley wrote:
The wind often touches a mile a minute. Some of the gusts
will blow you several feet, and it's hard going. The sand is
bad enough, cutting into your skin, but a combination of sand
and snow is almost unbearable.
On the occasion of his retirement at the age of 70, Keeper
Hinckley expressed the opinion that the government should pay
a pension to lighthouse keeper's wives, who "do just as
much as the men."
- Osborne Hallett (keeper from 1945
to 1955) with niece Anne and her mother at Race Point Light,
circa 1945.
- Courtesy of Anne Ames.
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- Keeper Osborne Hallett and family
used this jeep for transportation at Race Point. Courtesy of
Anne Ames.
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- The captions on this photograph indicate
what the Coast Guard planned to do in 1960 (U.S.
Coast Guard photo)
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The light was electrified in 1957. Three years later, the
larger Gothic Revival keeper's house was torn down and the other
house was modernized.
The Coast Guard's officer in charge in the early 1970s was
Thomas Branco, who lived at Race Point with his wife, Charlotte,
and their five children. With one child in kindergarten and the
others in older grades, it meant three round trips to town every
day. Years later, the Brancos' daughter, Tracy, said that a tour
operator often brought visitors to see the lighthouse. "He'd
drive up and say, 'This is where you'll see the little savages,'"
she recalled.
The light was automated in 1972. The Fresnel lens has been
removed; there is now a solar powered VRB-25 optic.
In 1995, the surrounding property, including the keeper's
house and oil house, was leased to the American Lighthouse Foundation.
International Chimney, the same company that has moved three
New England lighthouses, repaired the roof of the keeper's house
and rebuilt the chimney. Contractor Richard Davidson of Onset
did a great deal of work on the interior and exterior.
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- The iron spiral stairs inside the
tower
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- A bedroom in the keeper's house
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Volunteers renovated the interior, and the five-bedroom keeper's
house opened for overnight stays. The building now has heat,
hot water, flush toilets, refrigeration, and a stove.
Guests must bring their own bedding and the kitchen is shared
with other guests.
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Jim Walker reported a mystery in 1996. An American flag appeared
on a temporary flag pole, put there by an unknown benefactor.
The volunteers took the flag in for the winter, then put it
out again in spring. It was shredded in a storm, but again, a
new flag mysteriously took its place.
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- The oil house has also been restored
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- The fog signal building before renovation
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The Center for Coastal Studies, a marine mammal research and
educational group, leased the fog signal building. After a $45,000
renovation, the building was dedicated as their new field station
in June 1999.
The fog signal building now contains two bedrooms and is available
as a weekly rental in summer.
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- After renovation
| The Cape Cod Chapter of the American Lighthouse
Foundation raised funds for the installation of a solar electrical
system for the keeper's house. Completed in October 2003,
the system supplemented a diesel engine electrical generating
system. On-site demonstrations show schoolchildren and other
visitors how solar power can supply electric energy to the average
family home. |
- Solar panels were installed in 2003
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- This replica door in the tower was
made and installed in 2002. It was made from wood cut in the
same year that the tower was built
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You can park at Race Point Beach and walk about 45 minutes
(a little over two miles in very soft sand) to the lighthouse.
Sunset at Race Point Beach is one of the Cape's most popular
spectacles, and at times humpback whales can be seen from the
beach. Race Point Light is still an active aid to navigation
maintained by the Coast Guard.
For reservations to stay in the keepers house at Race Point
call (508) 487-9930.
- For more information:
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- Official
website for Race Point Lighthouse
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- American
Lighthouse Foundation
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- A view from the top
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- Keepers: ?
Cook (?); Waterman Crocker (?); Jesse Smith (assistant, ?); Charles A.
Havender (1893-?); Thomas W. Newcomb (second assistant, 1893-?);
Elliott Hadley, Jr. (assistant, 1912); William H. Lowther (1915-1935);
James Hinckley (asst., then keeper, 1920-1937); Osborne Earle Hallett
(1945-1955); Thomas Branco (coast Guard, c. early 1970s).
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