Reproduction of Nantucket Island's Brant Point Lighthouse

Reproduction of Nantucket Island's Brant Point Lighthouse. . , Mystic Seaport's lighthouse is a reproduction of Nantucket Island's Brant Point Lighthouse. Built in 1966, it is an exact replica in size and scale and uses a fourth-order Fresnel lens., Only the second lighthouse built in the English-American colonies in 1746, Nantucket's Brant Point light marks the entrance to Nantucket Harbor. Rebuilt eight times since then, the current structure dates to 1901. With a light only 26 feet above the water, it is the lowest lighthouse in New England., Lighthouses have helped sailors identify harbors and avoid coastal dangers since 280 BCE in ancient Egypt. Methods for generating light have changed over the centuries, from burning piles of wood to whale-oil lamps to today's automated, electronic lighthouses. Developed in France in the 1830s, the Fresnel lens was a technological breakthrough in its ability to focus light and cast a stronger beam., Inside the lighthouse, visitors can view two short, panoramic films that bring to life the story of American lighthouses and their keepers. Displayed on 5 LCD screens, the films use modern and historic film footage, stories, sound, and illustrations to explore how lighthouses have saved sailors and ships over the centuries., [Inset:] , The French dramatically improved lighthouse technology in the 1830s with the development of the Fresnel lens. Our replica lighthouse uses a fourt-order Fresnel lens, smaller than the fifth-order lens that Nantucket's Brant Point light once used. This photo shows a 5th order Fresnel lens that is in the Museum's collection and on loan from the U.S. Coast Guard.