{"nrhp_refnum":"87001489","name":"Minot's Ledge Light","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Minot's Ledge","address_restricted":false,"city":"Scituate","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":42.26792590300005,"lon":-70.76006352799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-06-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation","Architecture","Maritime History"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 102-foot granite lighthouse tower built on Minot's Ledge, a rock ledge about one mile offshore from Cohasset and Scituate, Massachusetts. It was built between 1855 and 1860 and first lit on 15 November 1860.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the tower was a major engineering achievement of national importance and is one of only a handful of lighthouses built directly in the sea, the earliest and arguably the most famous. It is a monument to the engineers and stone masons who built it and is recognized as a National Historic Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It also has significant ties to the development of aids to navigation in Massachusetts.","narrative":"Minot's Ledge Light is a granite lighthouse rising 102 feet from a small rock ledge about a mile off Cohasset and Scituate, Massachusetts. It replaced an iron skeleton tower that a storm toppled in April 1851, killing two keepers. The new tower was designed by General Joseph G. Totten and built under Lt. Barton S. Alexander between 1855 and 1860. Because the ledge is exposed only at extreme low tides, workers needed three seasons just to prepare the foundation. Stones were cut and preassembled on the mainland to ensure a precise fit, with lower courses interlocked and held by iron dowels. The light was first shown on 15 November 1860. Its 1-4-3 signal sequence, adopted in 1894, earned it the nickname Lover's Light. Listed for its engineering importance and its role in coastal navigation, it is among the earliest lighthouses built directly in the open sea and is recognized as an engineering landmark. The Coast Guard automated it in 1947.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Designed by General Joseph G. Totten of the Lighthouse Board; construction supervised by Lt. Barton S. Alexander, Army Corps of Engineers","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as unmanned and active; automated in 1947 and converted to solar power in 1983. Rehabilitation of masonry cracks at the watchroom level was planned by the Coast Guard for 1987.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.185132-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/7927/63792732/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87001489.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001489/e74aa614fa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001489/e74aa614fa-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Clement Drew","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1886_View_of_Minot%E2%80%99s_Light_from_North_Shore_byClementDrew_LynnMuseum.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Clement Drew</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1886_View_of_Minot%E2%80%99s_Light_from_North_Shore_byClementDrew_LynnMuseum.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792732","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minot%27s_Ledge_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6869325"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/minots-ledge-light-87001489/"}