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The 1871 Duxbury Pier Lighthouse, also known locally as Bug Light, in Duxbury Bay, Massachusetts has been declared excess property and has been made available for adoption to qualified applicants under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.
The Duxbury Pier Lighthouse was the first offshore cast iron caisson lighthouse built in the United States. But that distinction did not prevent it from being automated in 1964, along with plans to demolish the tower. It survived that threat but faced it again in 1985 when the Coast Guard wanted to replace it with a fiberglass pole. Again, demolition was stopped, thanks to local volunteers who stepped forward.
Since then it has faced several ups and downs with restoration projects and vandalism. In 2010-2011 major work was done to the lighthouse by Project Gurnet & Bug Light, Inc., the group that continues to care for the lighthouse and will be applying for ownership. You can learn more about the group at www.buglight.org.
This story appeared in the
Jul/Aug 2014 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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