MassachusettsCleveland Ledge Light Station stands in Buzzards Bay at the eastern side of the southern entrance to the channel approaching the Cape Cod Canal, rising 74 feet on a concrete-filled caisson foundation set in about 21 feet of water on a ledge two miles from shore. Built in 1940 at a cost of roughly $250,000, it consists of an Art Moderne dwelling of two levels surmounted by a tower and a traditional 19th-century cast-iron lantern, its main deck ringed by a railing reminiscent of an ocean liner's bridge. It was the last lighthouse of traditional form erected in Massachusetts, and its late date gives it unique Art Moderne design features. Transferred to the government in partly finished condition in September 1941 amid the war threat, it survived an early storm, was automated in 1978, and is significant for its integrity and its association with the development of navigational aids in the state.
Cleveland Ledge Light Station
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Cleveland Ledge Light Station is a landmark in Falmouth, Barnstable County. It is one of 6,558 landmarks documented in Barnstable County, among 6,897 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.
The site sits at 41.6308, -70.6942 near Falmouth. The nearest cataloged historic site is Bowman, Robert Taber and Adelaide E. Hamblin Cottage (landmark), about 3.5 miles away. Others within a short drive include Wright House, Eldred - Bowman House, and Building at 710 West Falmouth Hwy.
This record is drawn from public historical records. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Cleveland East Ledge Light stands on a man-made island in Buzzards Bay off Falmouth, marking the east side of the dredged channel that leads to the Cape Cod Canal. The ledge is said to be named for President Grover Cleveland, who owned the nearby Gray Gables estate and fished in the area. Built in 1943 by the J.F. Fitzgerald Co. of Boston, it is often cited as the last new lighthouse commissioned in New England; the light was automated in 1978 and the station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
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