~ The Old Sachem ~ Minot’s Ledge Light

By Bill Stewart

In 1843 the Inspector of the Lighthouse Service, I.W.P. Lewis, wrote a report on Minot Ledge in which he stated that between 1832 and 1841 there were more than 40 vessels that had been destroyed by the rocky ledge in the harbor just off the towns of Cohasset and Scituate, Massachusetts, to the southeast of Boston. This led to serious loss of life and damage to property. It was estimated that 40 lives were lost and $364.000 in property loss ensued. The most serious ship loss was the St. John in October 1849 when 99 Irish immigrants drowned within sight of land.

The state originally thought to build a lighthouse similar to the one in Eddystone, off the southeast of England designed and built by John Smeaton. After studying Smeaton’s design, Captain William H. Smith, of the United States Topographical Bureau, became the architect and decided that the rocks in the area made it impossible to build it like Eddystone on mostly submerged rock and instead proposed an iron pile light, a spidery structure drilled into the rock.

The Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse had construction starting in 1847 and was completed in late 1849. It was lit for the first time on January 1, 1850. In April 1851 a major storm, probably a tornado, struck the lighthouse. The storm caused damage throughout the Boston area. When state officials inspected the area on January 2, they found only a few bent pilings on the rock, and during the storm the two assistant keepers stationed in the lighthouse died at their post.

The ledge was about 20 feet wide and exposed during low tide, but invisible as the tide grew. It was only exposed for two or three hours a day. A narrow rock was decided to be the site of the construction – 75 feet long. The construction crew were put off by the tide and could only work on very calm days. The work was conducted from a schooner, which carried the materials needed, and the construction crew slept on board. When storms were predicted, the ship would float into Cohasset Harbor for safety.

Nine holes were drilled into the solid rock 12 inches wide and five feet deep, placed in a circle of eight 25 feet across, and a ninth was drilled into the center. The crew then cemented iron piling 10 inches in diameter in the holes. Four men worked 20-minute shifts at drilling from a platform above the ledge.

The apparatus upon which the men worked was swept by two storms in the summer of 1847, and the workmen were often swept into the sea, but none drowned. Work continued to completion.

The first keeper, Isaac Dunham, wrote to Washington, D.C., that the structure was not safe and resigned. Captain John W. Bennett was hired as a replacement and was satisfied that the structure was adequate. During a large storm on March 16, 1851, the two keepers who lived in the lighthouse had become terrified. On April 17 a storm destroyed the structure, and one of the keepers washed ashore at Nantasket and the other survived.

A new lighthouse was established on August 20, 1860. The new structure has been able to withstand violent wind and sea. The light was made automatic in 1947 and today the 45,000-candle light, 85 feet above the water, can be seen 15 miles away. In spite of the problems encountered, the lighthouse stands today as a remarkable feat to survive.

  (Editor’s Note: Bill Stewart, who is better known to Saugus Advocate readers as “The Old Sachem,” writes a weekly column – sometimes about sports. He also opines on current or historical events or famous people.)