Last updated: October 27, 2023
Place
The Graves
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Boston Harbor
Significance:
Home to Graves Light
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
MANAGED BY:
Privately Owned
The Graves are located in the outer northeast corner of the Boston Harbor at approximately 11 miles away from Boston. Rocky outcroppings surround the island, which are 15 feet above sea level at high tide. The Graves are not open to the public as they are privately owned.1
In 1653, John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts, named The Graves after Rear Admiral Thomas Graves. Most of the island is submerged at high tide, making it a dangerous journey for ships passing by. In 1857, a series of signal buoys were used to warn sailors of the rocky ledges. However, the need for a lighthouse became dire in the 1900s as a new major shipping channel lane opened.2
Construction on Graves Light began in 1903 with Royal Luther in charge. Granite was cut from Cape Anne in Rockport for the lighthouse tower. With its location in the outer corner of the Boston Harbor, Graves Light received a first order Fresnel lens.3 On September 1, 1905, Elliott C. Hadley lit Graves Light for the first time. Graves Light was automated in 1978 and sold in a federal auction in 2013 to Dave and Lynn Waller. The Wallers have been dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Graves Light.
Learn More...
Footnotes:
- Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, Cultural Landscape Report: Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park, Volume 2: Existing Conditions, (Boston: National Park Service, 2017), 71-72.
- "Graves Light Station," United States Coast Guard, last modified August 27, 2019.
- Jeremy D’Entremont, "History of Graves Light, Boston Harbor, Massachusetts," accessed March 31, 2023; Edward Snow, The Islands of the Boston Harbor (Carlisle, MA: Commonwealth Editions, 2002), 195; "Graves Light Station," United States Coast Guard, last modified August 27, 2019.