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Orleans in Barnstable County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)
 

Three Sisters Lit the Way

 
 
Three Sisters Lit the Way Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 22, 2012
1. Three Sisters Lit the Way Marker
Inscription. These three lighthouses were part of the Nauset Beach Light Station, which originally stood a quarter mile away, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Nicknamed the Three Sisters, this trio of lights provided a landmark for sailors making their way along the Outer Cape from 1838 to 1911. Changing lighthouse technology and the steady erosion of the Nauset cliffs eventually forced the removal of the lights from their post. They were reunited here in 1989- a rare surviving example of a triple lighthouse configuration.

These lights, which replaced original brick towers, were part of a network along the treacherous and busy Cape Cod coast. Ships approaching the southern Cape saw the stationary beams of the twin Chatham Lighthouses. The Three Sisters' triple light configuration told sailors that they had reached the Cape's mid-point. Sailors knew they were nearing the Cape's tip when the saw the single flashing beam of Highland Light.

As lighthouse technology evolved, twin and triple lighthouses were replaced by single lighthouses with unique patterns of flashing lights and colors. While the Three Sisters no longer light the way for ships at sea, Nauset Light continues the tradition today.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: LandmarksWaterways & Vessels

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. In addition, it is included in the Lighthouses series list.
 
Location. 41° 51.542′ N, 69° 57.431′ W. Marker is in Orleans, Massachusetts, in Barnstable County. Marker is on Cable Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Orleans MA 02653, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Nauset Lights (approx. ¼ mile away); Keeping the Light for 114 Years (approx. ¼ mile away); The Long, Black Cable (approx. ¼ mile away); Pushed Back by the Sea (approx. ¼ mile away); Nauset Beach Light Station (approx. ¼ mile away); Doane Rock (approx. one mile away); The Outermost House (approx. 1.2 miles away); Journey of the Mayflower (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Orleans.
 
Three Sisters Lit the Way Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 22, 2012
2. Three Sisters Lit the Way Marker
Sister number three.
Three Sisters Lit the Way Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 22, 2012
3. Three Sisters Lit the Way Marker
Sister number two and three.
Three Sisters Lit the Way Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 22, 2012
4. Three Sisters Lit the Way Marker
Sister number one - the marker is next to this sister.
Erosion of the Nauset cliffs image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, September 22, 2012
5. Erosion of the Nauset cliffs
Three Sisters image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Byron Hooks, September 2, 2014
6. Three Sisters
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on February 17, 2013, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 657 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 17, 2013, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.   5. submitted on February 18, 2013, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.   6. submitted on October 13, 2014, by Byron Hooks of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024