My replica of the East Chop Lighthouse
comes with
your choice of:
- Cedar Wood Construction for either indoor or outdoor display
- Pine Wood Construction for indoor use only
The base price includes:
- Aluminum exterior light housing
- Brass and Copper railings
- Windows that reflect light
- Standard 40 Watt Bulb, 120 Volt AC incandescent light fixture
- Hand crafted and hand painted detail
- Choice of interior or exterior wiring on Cedar replicas
- Interior wiring with In Line On/Off switch on Pine replicas
Options available for the East Chop Lighthouse are:
- Nightlight 7 Watt Bulb, small base light fixture and lantern lens
- Flashing Beacon Kit and lantern lens
- In Line On/Off switch for interior wiring on Cedar replicas
- Outdoor Photo-electric cell for dusk to dawn operation
- Inside Photo-electric cell for automatic night light operation
- 3 to 21 foot Vinyl Coated Galvanized Steel security cable
- Historical Appearance
HEIGHT: 25 Inches
WIDTH: 9 Inches
SHAPE: Conical
WEIGHT: 8.5 Pounds
SCALE: 1 to 24
East Chop was originally established a semaphore signal station on what became known as "Telegraph Hill" in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vinyard. The first light was built privately in 1869 funded by local merchants and mariners. This original tower burned down in 1871 and was replaced by a lantern on the roof of the private keeper's house. Aknowledging the necessity of a lighthouse at East Chop, the U.S. Government purchased the site in 1876 and erected the existing 40 foot tower. Built of cast iron plates and lined with brick, it was originally painted a red - brown and was nicknamed "The Chocolate Tower". Equiped with a fourth order Fresnel lens, the lighthouse was automated in 1933. When the last keeper declined to rent his keeper's house for $100 per month both the house and oil house were removed in 1934. The classical lens was replaved in 1984 with a 300 mm modern optic.
The East Chop Lighthouse continues to be an active aid to navigation displaying a green light characteristic of 3 seconds on and 3 seconds off. The tower was repainted white with a black lantern and trim in 1989 when it was determined that the chocolate brown color caused excess heat to build up in the automated tower. The Martha's Vineyard Historical Society was granted stewardship in 1994 and maintains the structure
The East Chop Lighthouse grounds are open to the public. Sunset tours of the tower are held on Sundays between mid June and mid September.The tours start 1.5 hours before sunset and continue another .5 hour after sunset. The tour fee is $3.00 per person with proceeds going to maintenance of the three Martha's Vineyard lighthouses maintained by the Historical Society ( East Chop, Edgartown Harbor and Gay Head). Directions: Martha's Vineyard Island is accesible by both air plane and ferry. From the Vineyard Haven ferry dock, turn south on Water Street to a left turn on Beach Road. Continue over the bridge and make the second right turn onto Eastville Avenue. Turn left on Temahigan Avenue and continue to the end. Turn left onto East Chop Drive which will climb to the top of Telegraph Hill. The East Chop Lighthouse is to your left in a small park overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Martha's Vineyard Historical Society - Please visit the Museum's web site for Sunset Tours and other information and area attractions when visiting the East Chop Lighthouse. The historical society also has stewardship of the Edgartown Harbor and Gay Head Lighthouses.
Please visit the Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce website for more information and attractions when visiting Martha's Vineyard.
For more photographs and history of the East Chop Lighthouse, you can visit the:
United States Coast Guard Historians' Official Web Site
New England Lighthouses - A Virtual Guide
Lighthouse Explorer Database