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The first Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse was established as a privately owned lighthouse in a tavern in 1759 on the seven mile long Naushon Island, Massachusetts, an island that is located just off Cape Cod and near Martha’s Vineyard.
It wasn’t until 1817 that the federal government built an official lighthouse there, which was a rubble-stone tower that was typical of the time. Because the first keeper of the light, John Hayden, was there for 25 years, it must have been a good lighthouse to have been stationed.
By 1888 the old stone tower had outlived its usefulness and was torn down and replaced with the tower that stands there today. The keeper’s house was also replaced by a keeper’s home that was typical of many New England lighthouses.
The lighthouse was automated in 1941. Left abandoned, the elements took their toll, and in 1962 the keeper’s house was demolished. Today the tower is in the care of the Cuttyhunk Historical Society.
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