Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse

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PORTSMOUTH HARBOR LIGHT

(Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

The Portsmouth Harbor Light is located on the grounds of Fort Constitution on New Castle Island at the mouth of the Portsmouth Harbor in New Hampshire.

The current lighthouse, shown above, is the fourth lighthouse to be built on this spot. The first light, established in 1771, was simply a lantern that a keeper hoisted to the top of the flagpole at Fort William and Mary (later named Fort Constitution). A few years later an 80 feet wooden tower was built and then rebuilt in 1804 after the wood had begun to rot. In 1877 the Lighthouse Service replaced the lighthouse with the structure that stands today. It is a 48 foot cylindrical tower made of bolted iron plates. It contains a forth order Fresnel lens that shines a fixed green light that can be seen out to 12 nautical miles.

The lighthouse is located on the grounds of Fort Constitution which is also an active Coast Guard base. Although the Fort can be visited and the lighthouse seen from within the Fort, walking the grounds of the Coast Guard Base to get the better lighthouse views is restricted.

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All pictures are the original work of Rick Totton and are protected under copyright laws.

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