Cape Ann Light

Located on Thatcher Island, Rockport, Ma. These lights are among the oldest and most historic light stations in America. Their lights shone for the first time in 1771, before the Revolution.

Nearly 150 years later, the foghorn here may have saved the life of President Woodrow Wilson by preventing the wreck of his fog-blinded ship as it returned from Europe in 1919, following the Versailles Peace Conference that officially ended WW I.

The two 124-foot granite towers that stand here now date from 1861. Only the south tower remains active, however, its flashing red beacon produced by a modern optic.

Thatcher Island is accessible only by boat, but you can see the towers from Route 127A near Rockport on Cape Ann.

("American Lighthouses" A Definitive Guide, by Bruce Roberts and Ray Jones 2nd Edition)