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Ten Pound Island Light

gloucester, ma

Built in 1881 of cast iron and lined with brick, this popular lighthouse is an active aid to navigation and helps to guide sailors into Gloucester’s inner harbor.

In fog, her great horn sounds two blasts every twenty seconds and she shows a red light for six seconds and then dark for six seconds.  The light itself is fifty-seven feet above sea level and can be seen for six miles!

Legend has it that the island was named for what it cost to buy it from the local Indians.  There is also a Five Pound Island nearby, presumably named the same way!

In 1817, a number of people reported seeing a huge monster on the island saying it resembled a sea serpent with the head of a turtle and appeared to be over fifty feet in length.  Interesting, there were a number of similar sightings reported as far as Boston.

Winslow Homer loved this place and boarded with the lighthouse keeper while he painted scores of scenes of Gloucester Harbor.