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Photograph of Nobska Light
Photograph by Unknown, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Nobska Point Light Station

Built in 1828. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“Nobska Light, originally called Nobsque Light, also known as Nobska Point Light is a lighthouse located near the division between Buzzards Bay, Nantucket Sound, and Vineyard Sound in the settlement of Woods Hole, Massachusetts on the southwestern tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It overlooks Martha's Vineyard and Nonamesset Island.”

Wikipedia article Nobska Light, CC BY-SA 4.0.

one of 145 National Register listings in Barnstable County · listed in 1987 · category: Structure · built in 1828.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 5 structuress, 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. Nobska Rd., Falmouth, 02543
  • When was it listed? 1987-06-15
  • Category. structure
  • Also known as. Lighthouses of Massachusetts TR
  • Township. Falmouth town
  • When was it built? 1828
  • National Register reference number. 87001483 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

40 words

This property stands in Falmouth Town. History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1637-1686-1890, published 1890 gives that township a chapter of its own.

The chapter covers the township.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Falmouth Town - 40 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

26 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 26 fires within 5 miles of Nobska Point Light Station between 2015 and 2020, burning about 6 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined10
Debris and open burning10
Recreation and ceremony4
Equipment and vehicle use1
Arson/incendiarism1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
2 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
19 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
17 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
16 September 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
1 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
4 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
26 August 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Barnstable County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 9,197 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 9,197 specimens collected within 10 miles of Nobska Point Light Station between 1791 and 1975: 4,616 Animalia, 2,844 Plantae, 773 Chromista, 768 Fungi, 153 Bacteria, 22 Unrecorded, 21 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A B Seymour, A. A. Cohen, A. B. Harvey and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Enallagma civile (Hagen, 1861)Enallagma civile (Hagen, 1861)1899J. BenedictWoods Hole
Specimen of Erythemis simplicicollis (Say, 1840)Erythemis simplicicollis (Say, 1840)1899J. BenedictWoods Hole
Specimen of Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 1861Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 18611899J. BenedictWoods Hole
A photograph of the species Drosera filiformis, not of this specimenDrosera filiformis var. filiformis1791not recorded
A photograph of the species Polysiphonia flexicaulis, not of this specimenPolysiphonia flexicaulis (Harvey) F.S.Collins1839unknownWoods Hole
A photograph of the species Ectocarpus littoralis, not of this specimenEctocarpus littoralis (L.) Lyngb.1841B. F. D. RunkWoods Hole, Nobska Point, wash
A photograph of the species Polysiphonia fibrata, not of this specimenPolysiphonia fibrata (Dillwyn) Harvey1844Collector unknown
A photograph of the species Alosa aestivalis, not of this specimenAlosa aestivalis (Mitchill, 1814)1852not recordedWood's Hole, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Clupea harengus, not of this specimenClupea harengus Linnaeus, 17581852not recordedWood's Hole, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Menidia menidia, not of this specimenMenidia menidia (Linnaeus, 1766)1852not recordedWood's Hole, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Prionotus evolans, not of this specimenPrionotus evolans (Linnaeus, 1766)1852not recordedWood's Hole, Massachusetts.
A photograph of the species Ulva clathrata, not of this specimenUlva clathrata (Roth) C.Agardh1852G. W. Perry

All 9,197 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Nobska Point Light Station: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Falmouth Concrete and Builders SuppSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Barnstable County

Storms near this property

22 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Falmouth, the town this property stands in, in 22 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 16 thunderstorm wind, 2 heavy rain, 2 hail, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2011FloodFalmouth$40,000Two to six inches of rain fell over portions of Cape Cod. This resulted in flooding of roads, mainly in Falmouth. The Falmouth Fire Department made several trips to rescue people from cars in water up to three feet deep. Route 28 or Main Street in Falmouth was flooded along with Route 130 in Sandwich.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$15,000Wires on Rydall Mount Drive were downed by thunderstorm winds. Several trees on Woods Hole Road also were downed.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$10,000Trees on Blacksmith Shop Road and Route 151 were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth$5,000Large limbs and wires on Route 28 were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindWest Falmouth$5,000A tree was downed at the intersection of Brick Kiln Road and Gifford Street by thunderstorm winds.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindWest Falmouth$5,000A tree on Blacksmith Shop Road was downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$5,000Two trees on Moses Road were downed by thunderstorm winds.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$5,000no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindFalmouth$3,000Multiple large tree limbs were downed onto Sandwich Road by thunderstorm winds.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth$800In Falmouth at 845 PM EDT (745 PM EST), a tree was down on Round Pond Drive and wires were down on Crooked Meadow Road.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindWest Falmouth$500Large limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds. A nearby amateur radio operator recorded a 57 mph wind gust on their home weather station.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth-At 345 PM EST (445 PM EST), a narrow line of thunderstorms produced a wind gust to 60 mph in East Falmouth.
July 2017Flash FloodFalmouth-At 1248 PM EST, Main Street in Falmouth was closed due to significant street flooding. Water levels near Dunkin Donuts were up to vehicles' hoods. At 1257 PM EST, Palmer Avenue was also flooded and impassable. Rainfall of 3.75 inches was reported in East Falmouth.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindFalmouth-The Automated Weather Observation System at Otis Air National Guard Base (KFMH) recorded a wind gust of 63 mph. No damage was reported.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth-A spotter measured a wind gust of 61 mph on their home weather station. No damage was reported with this wind.
March 2008Thunderstorm WindFalmouth-Wires and trees were downed, blocking a road in Falmouth.
November 2006Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth-An isolated severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 62 mph in East Falmouth. No damage was reported.
November 2014Thunderstorm WindEast Falmouth-no account filed
July 2009HailFalmouth-no account filed
July 2006HailFalmouth-no account filed
October 1998Heavy RainEast Falmouth-no account filed
September 1998Heavy RainFalmouth-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Barnstable County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

From the nomination file

2,105 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is reproduced in full on its own page, word for word and never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

The whole case file for this property - 2,105 words, 13 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 87001483, 13 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

4 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Lawrence Academy3.3 miles1998
Poor House and Methodist Cemetery3.3 miles1998
Central Fire Station3.5 miles1998
Tobey, Josiah, House6.0 miles1994

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 87001483 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Barnstable CountyAll 145 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.