Vineyard Haven in Oak Bluffs in Dukes County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)
East Chop Lighthouse
Photographed by Steve Stoessel, July 5, 2026
1. East Chop Lighthouse Marker
Mid-1840s
A semaphore telegraph is installed on this site, leading to the name "Telegraph Hill." The telegraph will be removed by 1859.
1869
Captain Silas Daggett of Holmes Hole (now Vineyard Haven), dissatisfied with the government's failure to erect a lighthouse in this key spot, builds a circular wooden tower with funds donated by fellow captains and ship owners.
1871
The lighthouse is destroyed by a fire caused by the kerosene used to fuel its lamps.
1872
Daggett builds a new lighthouse combining a keeper's house with a two-story tower for the light. A new lighthouse building is completed, its light amplified by three 21-inch reflectors loaned by the government. The lighthouse includes a keeper's house with a two-story tower for the light.
1876-77
The federal government buys the land under Daggett's lighthouse and builds a new keeper's house and a cast-iron tower fitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens. The older building is moved to another site on East Chop and becomes a private residence.
1880
The lighthouse is painted red, which quickly weathers to brown. It will be repainted in brown for the next
this page online
1922
East Chop becomes the first lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard to be electrified.
1927
The Fresnel lens is replaced and a new clockwork mechanism installed, reducing the amount of labor required to operate the light.
1933
East Chop becomes the first island lighthouse to be automated. The signal is changed from red to flashing green.
1957
The land around the lighthouse is sold to the town of Oak Bluffs for use as a park.
1988
Based on studies by the Vineyard Environmental Research Institute, the lighthouse is painted white to lower interior temperatures and slow corrosion of the iron walls.
1993
The Martha's Vineyard Museum takes over management of the East Chop Light. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to maintain the optical equipment.
Oak Bluffs Park Department
Community Preservation Act
This project is funded in part by the citizens of Oak Bluffs, through the Community Preservation Act.
MV Museum Inc. 1923 mvmuseum.org
Erected by Oak Bluffs Park Department, MV Museum.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1859.
Location. 41° 28.208′ N,
Photographed by Steve Stoessel, July 5, 2026
2. East Chop Lighthouse Marker
Marker is to the right of the path just past the fence.
Regionally, this marker is on Massachusetts’ Marthas Vineyard. It is also in the American Northeast, in New England, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Shearer Cottage (approx. 0.6 miles away); Carrie Camillo Tankard and George Van Buren Tankard Jr. (approx. 0.6 miles away); Coleman Corners (approx. 0.7 miles away); Dorothy West (approx. 0.7 miles away); The Powell House (approx. 0.7 miles away); Historic Clay & Brick Bathhouse (approx. one mile away); Flying Horses Carousel
Photographed by Steve Stoessel, July 5, 2026
3. East Chop Lighthouse Marker
Also see . . . East Chop Light (Wikipedia).
East Chop Light is a historic lighthouse standing on a bluff overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor and Vineyard Sound, located along East Chop Drive in the town of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. It is one of five lighthouses located on the island of Martha's Vineyard.(Submitted on July 8, 2026, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.)
Photographed by Steve Stoessel, July 5, 2026
4. East Chop Lighthouse
Credits. This page was last revised on July 8, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 8, 2026, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. This page has been viewed 13 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 8, 2026, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.
