Highland Lighthouse

Highland Lighthouse, Cape Cod, MA

This is the Highland Lighthouse near Truro on the northern tip of Cape Code.

The original, completed in 1797, was the first lighthouse on Cape Cod, and was a wooden structure. This was replaced by a more sturdy brick structure in 1833.

By 1857, the lighthouse had become unsafe, so another was built that remains today. Prior to this, in 1996, the lighthouse was moved 450 feet west to its current location due to the cliff face eroding. It is now on the Highland Golf Course.

The cliffs near the lighthouse have eroded at an alarming rate of several feet every year.

View inland from the lighthouse.

The plaque on this rock commemorates the move to the west in 1996. The next picture shows a close-up.

close-up of the plaque commemorating the move in 1996.

This plaque commemorates the sinking of the Steamer Portland in 1898 with the loss of all 176 passengers.

The Highland House Museum next to the lighthouse. Built at the end of the 19th century, it was originally an hotel. The contents cover the period from the 17th to the early 20th century.

Over the years, the lighting was replaced many times, including a huge 1st order Fresnel lens at one time. The current VRB-25 system shown in this picture was installed in 1998.

This is the Jenny Lind Tower that is visible from the lighthouse. Originally it was part of the Fitchburg Railway depot in Boston. A wealthy lawyer, and fan of Jenny Lind, Henry Aldrich moved it to the Cape Cod location in 1927 when the Fitchburg Railway depot was demolished.

The Swedish opera singer, Jenny Lind, was believed to have sung from the tower, between 1850 and 1852, when it was still in Boston, to fans who had been unable to get in to her concert. Unfortunately, the story is apocryphal. Image by: Kevin Rutherford. Click image for link to the original.

This is the Highland Lighthouse near Truro on the northern tip of Cape Code.

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