Built in 1871, Derby Wharf Light Station is a historic lighthouse in Salem, Massachusetts.
The lighthouse is a 12-foot-tall square white brick tower with a glossy black iron lantern. It is a simple structure with only a single steel door, no windows in the base, and a simple iron railing with a balcony. The lighthouse is one of only five square brick lighthouses in Massachusetts.
Inside the lighthouse, a wooden ladder leads to the watchroom, also known as the lamp room, via a wood hatch in the floor of the watchroom. The watchroom was used for the storage of lanterns and other supplies and originally included a desk, chair, and clock.
The lantern, also known as the lens room, is accessed from the watchroom via an iron ladder. The lantern houses the light, which is now a one-piece plastic solar lens mounted on a three-column iron support. The floor and walls of the lens room are metal.
The lighthouse was built by the U.S. Lighthouse Service at the end of Derby Wharf for $3,000, and Charles C. Pettingell was appointed the first keeper of the light.
The lighthouse tower was originally painted red as a daymark so mariners could distinguish it from other lighthouses. In 1871, the Derby Wharf light was changed to a fixed red dioptric light.
In 1898, the keeper of the lighthouse reported that the lighthouse survived a recent storm but received an “awful pounding by the sea; at times it felt as if something was going to give way, so hard did the tower rock. The oilroom was flooded and the oil cans set adrift.”
In 1917, the illuminant was changed from oil to a new acetylene gas flash light, which allowed the light to be automated and only needed to be replenished once every six months.
In 1922, the Derby Wharf light was changed from red to white on March 1, and the lighthouse tower was painted white.
In 1930, the light was changed to a fixed red on September 15, and the intensity was increased to 300 candlepower, and the light was electrified. The last lightkeeper of the Derby Wharf light station prior to its automation was William M. Osgood.
In 1937, the United States government purchased Derby Wharf and made it a part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site in 1938. The site also includes the Custom House, the Derby House, the Hawkes House, and several others.
The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the lighthouse in 1977 and turned it over to the National Park Service in 1979.
NPS restored the lighthouse to working condition in 1983, and the lamp was re-lit on October 4, 1983. It is now powered by solar energy, and the lantern houses a 300 candle-power bulb inside a 155-millimeter plastic optic lens.
On June 15, 1987, the Derby Wharf Light Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Sources:
Historic American Buildings Survey: Derby Wharf Light Station HABS NO. MA-135, National Park Service, share.google/Ax4i5VOBJQV7S0Jle
“Fixed Red Light on Derby Wharf.” The London Gazette, 14 Feb. 1871, p. 6.
“To Change Salem Harbor Light.” The Boston Globe, 4 Sept. 1930, p. 16.
“Notice to Mariners.” New York Tribune, 14 Feb. 1922, p. 18.
“New Derby Wharf.” Marblehead Messenger, 19 Oct. 1917, p. 6.
“Damaged the Lighthouse.” The Taunton Evening News, 5 Dec. 1898, p. 6.
“Historic Lighthouse Detail: SAL.904 Derby Wharf Lighthouse.” MACRIS, mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=SAL.904
“NP Gallery Asset Detail.” National Park Service, npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/87001466