Boston Light still shines bright after three centuries (2024)

Lighthouses are a strong part of American history. They’ve not only lighted the path for ships and boats but also guided the way for the country’s founding.

In light of its 300th birthday Wednesday, CBS News’Mark Albert went ashore to the Boston Light-- America’s first lighthouse that is now a national historic landmark.

Jettingoff into Boston Harbor aboard a Coast Guard boat, Albertfollowed the currents ofhistory, navigating to a beacon older than the republic.

After dockingon Little Brewster Island, Albert wasgreeted by a woman dressed like it’s 1783. She’s Sally Snowman, the lastCoast Guard lighthouse keeper in America.

“What’s it like living on an islandwith a lighthouse?” Albert asked.

“It’s a dream come true,” Snowman said.

BostonLighthas been both a dream and a vision for countless mariners throughthree centuries.AndSnowman’s job is to safeguard it foranother 300. She makes rounds twice a day. She guided CBS Newsalong on a cloudyThursday in July, starting at the lighthouse’s imposing granite base that’sseven-and-a-half-feetthick.

Built in 1716,60 years before the American Revolution, theBoston lighthouse has weatheredcountless storms – some man-made.TheAmerican rebels set it on fire twice to stop it from guiding occupying Britishforces. George Washington himself gave the order the second time. Then, theRedcoats blew up the lighthouse, in their retreat from Boston in 1776.

The victorious Americans finallyrebuilt it in 1783. It’s beenraised in stages through the centuries, now towering over Boston Harbor at 89feet tall – almostnine stories.

“Seventy-six spiral stairs andtwo ladders,” Snowman said.

Asthe conical walls narrowed, Albert reached the first ladder, into the gear room.

“This is what makes the lightturn?” Albert asked.

“Exactly. It rotates 4,000pounds of glass and brass. When we look up inside, we see a short, little bulbor lamp. That’s 1,000 watts,” Snowman said. “It’s tiny, and it gets magnifiedto two million candle power by all the glass.”

Anotherladder took Albert to the crystal orb that’s saved countless lives – 336 prisms in a 13-foot-tallFresnel lens. Unusual for a lighthouse, it rotates counterclockwise. The lightcuts through darkness every 10 seconds and is visible at least 27 nauticalmiles away.

“The light gets reflected andrefracted and into a narrow beam into the bull’s eyes, and that’s what we seeflashing,” Snowman said.

“Wow, this is breathtaking. Ohmy gosh, and there’s Downtown Boston,” Albert said.

“Absolutely. And imagine onthe Fourth of July, fireworks everywhere - up and down the north shore, thesouth shore. Panoramic views,” Snowman said.”

“You have the best view in Boston,” Albert said.

“Absolutely,” Snowman said.

Snowmanhas been keeper for 13 years and oversees a team of 90 volunteers. She took CBS Newsto her favorite spot on the island – a windy perch few get to experience.

“When you sit up here, do youthink of your predecessors hundreds of years ago sitting and taking in thisview?” Albert asked.

“Absolutely,” Snowman said. “I mean I’ve been out here at3 o’clock in the morning and it’s just been awesome. Even when it’s foggy, itfeels like you’re cloaked, that nothing can happen to you, that you’re safe.”

The lighthouse is one of 371 operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. Claudia Gelzeris the captain of the port in Boston.

“Why in the world does a 21st century Coast Guard need athree-century-old lighthouse?” Albert asked.

“She has been serving,really the same purpose for 300 years inkeeping mariners out of trouble out of shore watersand guiding them safely in the Boston Harbor,” Gelzer said.

“Mariners wanted to go toports that had lighthouses because it was safer for them to navigate in andout,” said Eric Jay Dolin, authorof the recent book, “Brilliant Beacons: A Historyof the American Lighthouse.”

Dolinsaid Boston Lightallowed its young city to thrive and expand, andlighthouses all along the East Coast reeled in commerce for a newborn nation.

“We would not be the country we are today without the service thatlighthouses and their dependable keepers have provided,” Dolin said.

“In your book, you call thembeacons and sentinels?” Albert asked.

“Yeah, these towering symbolsof welcome and safety,” Dolin answered.

Butin an age of GPS, radar and sonar, many wonder if these symbols of another erashould drift into history.

“Why not just tear down some of these lighthouses?” Albert asked.

“Some lighthouses have been torn down,” Dolin said. “But many lighthouses are sointegrally entwined with the history and the identity of the communities wherethey’re located that if you tried to tear down a lighthouse, you’re going tohave a political uprising.”

Just ask Congress. While the Coast Guard has automated all of its lighthouses,lawmakers decreed in 1989 that Boston Lighthouse – the nation’s first – be “forever manned” as a tribute.

That’s why Sally Snowman is thelatest in a long line of keepers to live on Little Brewster Island, kept companyby her husband, Jay.

Snowmanis the 70th keeper of the lighthouse in 300 years, and the firstwoman keeper at Boston Lighthouse.

“Still making history afterthree centuries?” Albert asked.

“Absolutely. And we’re goingto keep on making it,” Snowman said.

Insideher front door is a sign that reads: “We’ll leave the light on for you.”

AtBoston Light, that isn’t just a saying – it’s an unblinking promise keptfor centuries.

To celebrate the tricentennial, there will be a ceremony on the island on the lighthouse’s official birthday onWednesday, Sept. 14. Tours are available weekly through the National Park Service.