Chatham MA, Chatham Light

In 1808 two wooden lighthouses were built on a cliff in Chatham east of the location of the current Chatham lighthouse--a cliff that no longer exists. These first two Chatham lights were range lights, meaning they were movable and could be aligned in such a way that mariners approaching Chatham by sea could find the channel to the harbor by lining up the two lights. By 1841, the cliff had eroded so much that both lighthouses tumbled to the beach below. Another pair of lighthouses--these made with brick and mortar--were constructed to replace the old ones, but the cliff continued to erode at a rate of 20 feet per year until these were also destroyed in 1879 and 1881. To replace this second set, two iron lighthouses were built. One is the current Chatham Light, the other was moved to Eastham in 1923 to become the current Nauset Light. Chatham Light overlooks the Chatham Break, a mile-wide hole in the barrier beach that stretches back to the mainland at Nauset Beach in Orleans. The break occurred in early 1987 during a fierce nor'easter.

Chatham MA, Chatham Light

Photo 54, Oct 2003

Chatham MA, Chatham Light

Photo 56, Oct 2003