The birds of the winged trees flying my name Above the farms and the white horses I rose in rainy autumn And walked abroad in a shower of all my days. – Dylan Thomas
East Chop Light is one of five lighthouses that stand on Vineyard shores, a well-loved landmark perched high above Nantucket Sound. The 142-year-old lighthouse sit on Telegraph Hill, so-named because a telegraph station once stood on the spot where the lighthouse is now. In 1869 the first lighthouse was built there to guide sailors arriving at present-day Vineyard Haven. That structure burned down in 1871 and was later rebuilt
The current cast-iron lighthouse was built in 1876, after the governorment purchased the property. The lighthouse guided whaling ships to safety as they traveled Nantucket and Vineyard sounds. Today the green light greets mariners from the high bluff, though the lighthouse appearance has changed. It was long painted light brown, and known to many as the chocolate lighthouse. In 1988 it was painted white, just like the lighthouses at Cape Pogue, Edgartown harbor, and West Chop.
East Chop Light sits across Telegraph Hill. East Chop once hosted a telegraph tower. – Timothy JohnsonBefore 1988 the iron was painted brown, as seen in this watercolor by Sanford Low, and had the nickname chocolate lighthouse. It was later painted white – Sanford LowLighthosue is 40 feet tall. – Timothy JohnsonLight of a full blue moon to the left, East Chop Light to the right. – Mark Alan LovewellIconic image by Alison Shaw. – Alison ShawLighthouse light and sunset over the sound. – Jeanna ShepardBlack and white rendition by Roy Imhoff. – Roy ImhoffBeautiful spot to watch the sun set. – Mark Alan LovewellStanding sentinel in snowy season. – Timothy JohnsonChristmas decorations to match the green light. – Timothy JohnsonLighthouse and star full of stars. – Timothy JohnsonDouble rainbow for good luck.A peeek through the porthole. – Jeanna ShepardOn a snowy day. – Peter Simon– Timothy JohnsonEnjoying the sunset view. – Jeanna ShepardIn July the roses bloom. – Liz Durkee
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
