Built in 1901. 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.
“Brant Point Light is a lighthouse located on Nantucket Island. The station was established in 1746, automated in 1965, and is still in operation.”
Wikipedia article Brant Point Light, CC BY-SA 4.0.
one of 1 National Register listings in Nantucket County · listed in 1987 · category: Structure · built in 1901.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Nantucket Town in Illustrated Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Taunton, New Bedford, Fall River; a Guide and Souvenir to the Famous Resorts and Noted Cities of Southeastern Massachusetts, with Maps, List of Hotels, Rates, Time-tables, Etc, published 1889 names Nantucket. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
In October, 1641, Thomas Mayhew, Gent., and his son, Rev. Thomas. Mayhew, Jr., purchased of Sir Fernando Gorges and the Earl of Stirling, through their agents, Nantucket and its adjoining islands, and on the 23d of the same month obtained Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Isles; and in-1642 began a settlement at Edgartown, then called Great Harbor, a name which it retained till 1671. In 1664 Charles II., by charter, gave to his brother James,
Passage source: Illustrated Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Taunton, New Bedford, Fall River; a Guide and Souvenir to the Famous Resorts and Noted Cities of Southeastern Massachusetts, with Maps, List of Hotels, Rates, Time-tables, Etc, published 1889.
Nearly the entire amount of commerce engaged in the coasting trade between New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and the West Indies on the south, and the coast of New England north of Cape Cod, as well as the Atlantic ports of the British Provinces, passes through Vineyard and Nantucket sounds. While the distance is shorter by this route than by the outside route, it is intricate and dangerous, especially in stormy weather, by reason of strong tides and numerous shoals. It is these dangers that make Vineyard Haven Harbor, in spite of its limited area of deep water and exposure to the northeast storms, the most frequented and important on the entire Atlantic Coast.
Passage source: Illustrated Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Taunton, New Bedford, Fall River; a Guide and Souvenir to the Famous Resorts and Noted Cities of Southeastern Massachusetts, with Maps, List of Hotels, Rates, Time-tables, Etc, published 1889.
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 Nantucket Town - 17,013 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 16 fires within 5 miles of Brant Point Light Station between 2004 and 2020, burning about 5 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 2 were 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/undetermined | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 1 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 25 July 2020 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 10 June 2005 | Natural | under an acre | Massachussetts State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 8 May 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 30 May 2006 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachussetts State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 14 May 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 29 April 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachussetts State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 4,148 specimens collected within 10 miles of Brant Point Light Station between 1825 and 1974: 2,684 Plantae, 921 Animalia, 388 Fungi, 107 Chromista, 41 Unrecorded, 7 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A AND P STARRETT, A. B. Seymour, A. Cohen 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 | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Anemone quinquefolia L. | 1900 | M. A. Day | |
 | Rumex maritimus var. fueginus (Phil.) Dusén | 1825 | Collector unspecified | Martha's Vineyard. Block Id. |
 | Chrysopsis falcata (Pursh) Elliott | 1827 | F. A. Greene | |
 | Platanthera flava (L.) Lindl. | 1827 | T. A. Greene | Nantucket. |
| Desmodium rigidum (Elliott) DC. | 1829 | Oakes | ||
 | Ceramium cimbricum H.E.Petersen | 1831 | not recorded | Nantucket. |
 | Gloeosporium polygoni Dearn. & House | 1836 | Guba E. F. | Nantucket Co. Cultivated Fields on Hummock Rd. |
| Chondria dasyphylla (Woodward) C.Agardh | 1848 | M. L. Owen | ||
 | Ludwigia palustris (L.) Elliott | 1849 | J. L. Russell | |
 | Acer rubrum L. | 1899 | Nellie F. Flynn | |
 | Aletris farinosa L. | 1899 | Flynn, N. F. | Nantucket |
| Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. | 1899 | Nellie F. Flynn |
All 4,148 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Brant Point Light Station: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Cod and Islands Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Glowacki Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Nantucket Construction Company | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Nantucket, the town this property stands in, in 12 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 5 flood, 3 lightning, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2017 | Lightning | Nantucket | $10,000 | The Nantucket Mirror newspaper reported two lightning strikes that caused damage. The first strike was to a home on Friendship lane, causing a small portion of the wall to be blown out and the flashing near the chimney to be bent upward. The second strike was to the Nantucket High School, causing a gymnasium window to be broken. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nantucket | $2,500 | On Nantucket, although the worst part of the storm passed just offshore to the north, on Jetties Beach tables were overturned and umbrellas broken at a restaurant. One person was hit by flying debris but not injured. Also, the fire department reported a tree down blocking Goose Pond Ln. |
| August 2023 | Lightning | Nantucket | $1,000 | In Nantucket, a house was struck by lightning on Goose Pond Ln. Shingles on the roof were thrown off by the strike. |
| March 2016 | Lightning | Nantucket | $1,000 | Lightning struck a house on Wanoma Way in Nantucket, damaging the chimney. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Nantucket | $1,000 | Shingles were blown off a house on Barrett Farm Road by thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2020 | Flood | Nantucket | - | Minor street flooding was reported in downtown Nantucket with water up to sidewalks. |
| May 2020 | Flood | Nantucket | - | Washington Street was closed due to flooding. |
| July 2016 | Flood | Nantucket | - | One of the control tower operators at Nantucket Memorial Airport reported flooding in the parking lot of the airport, with cars stalled due to the depth of the water. Amateur radio operators reported eight inches of water flooding Sparks Avenue. A report on social media indicated significant flooding in the main airport loop, but no stalled cars a couple of hours after the report from the control tower operator. |
| December 2014 | Flood | Nantucket | - | Heavy rain resulted in several sections of Orange Street, Bartlett Road, and Sparks Avenue flooded with up to one foot of water. This was compounded by high tide occurring which inhibited the draining of water. |
| November 2014 | Flood | Nantucket | - | Union Street was closed at Francis Street and Orange Street and Washington Street was closed at Coffin Street due to flooding. Portions of Easy Street were also closed due to flooding. |
| March 2000 | Heavy Rain | Nantucket | - | no account filed |
| September 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Nantucket | - | no account filed |
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.
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 - 4,953 words, 28 pages, reproduced complete.
Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 87002029, 28 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 87002029 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Nantucket County | All 1 listed properties in this county. |
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