Est. 1716 · Oldest lighthouse in the United States (established 1716) · First keeper George Worthylake drowned 1718 — Benjamin Franklin wrote a ballad about the tragedy · Destroyed by British forces 1776; rebuilt 1783 · Only staffed lighthouse in the United States · National Park Service site, Boston Harbor Islands
Boston Light was established in 1716 by the Province of Massachusetts Bay, making it the first lighthouse in what would become the United States. The original tower was a rubblestone structure approximately 60 feet tall, built on Little Brewster Island at the outer edge of Boston Harbor to guide the considerable maritime traffic serving the colonial city.
The first keeper, George Worthylake, was appointed at a salary of 50 pounds per year. On November 3, 1718, Worthylake was returning to the island by boat with his wife Ann, his daughter Ruth, and two additional passengers when the boat capsized in rough water near the island. Worthylake, his wife, and his daughter all drowned; the other passengers survived. The tragedy drew immediate public attention in the small colonial city. Benjamin Franklin, then 13 years old and apprenticed to his brother's printing house, wrote and published a ballad about the event — one of his earliest known printed works, though Franklin himself later dismissed it as poor verse.
A second keeper drowned in similar circumstances a year later. The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1719 after fire damage. Through the 18th century it served as the primary navigational marker for the port of Boston.
British forces occupied Little Brewster Island during the Siege of Boston in 1775–1776. When the British evacuated Boston in March 1776, they destroyed the lighthouse tower with explosives. The current 89-foot granite tower was constructed and first lit in 1783, incorporating the original's stone foundation. It is the second-oldest lighthouse structure in the country.
The lighthouse was automated by the US Coast Guard in 1998 but remains staffed — a unique status in the American lighthouse system. It is designated as the only staffed lighthouse in the United States, with Coast Guard personnel maintaining the station year-round. The National Park Service operates educational boat tours to the island through Boston Harbor Islands State and National Recreation Area.
Sources
- https://www.nps.gov/boha/learn/historyculture/facts-libr.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Light
- https://www.bostonharborislands.org/blog/ghost-of-boston-light/
Footsteps with no source (caretaker Mazie Anderson, 1940s)Rocking chair moving between inspectionsCold spots in keeper's quartersAnimal avoidance behavior at tower staircase base
Boston Harbor Islands — the official NPS partner organization for the recreation area that includes Little Brewster Island — has documented and published several paranormal accounts from Boston Light, an unusual move for a federal agency partner.
The primary documented accounts come from caretakers who lived and worked on the island. During the 1940s, caretaker Mazie Anderson reported hearing clear footsteps behind her in the keeper's quarters when no other person was present. She logged the incidents at the time, and Boston Harbor Islands references these records in their published account of the light's ghost history.
More recent accounts from Coast Guard personnel stationed at the lighthouse describe a rocking chair in the keeper's quarters that moves on its own — repositioning itself between one inspection and the next with no explanation. Cold spots in the interior have been reported by multiple personnel across different assignment periods.
A cat brought to the island by a keeper or caretaker was reported to hiss persistently at the base of the tower staircase, refusing to ascend, in a pattern that multiple observers noted. Animal avoidance behavior at specific threshold locations recurs as a motif in lighthouse haunting accounts and is documented here as well.
The deaths of first keeper George Worthylake, his wife, and his daughter in November 1718 — all three drowned within sight of the lighthouse they tended — provide the most substantial historical foundation for the light's haunted reputation. No apparitions have been specifically identified with Worthylake or his family in documented accounts, but the proximity of their deaths to the lighthouse grounds is the most frequently cited historical anchor.
Notable Entities
George Worthylake — first keeper, drowned November 1718 with wife Ann and daughter Ruth
Where this legend is told
