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Geographic coordinates: 41° 51' 36" N 69° 57' 12" W
Nearest town: Eastham. Located on Nauset Light Beach, on the east coast of Cape Cod.
Established: 1838. Present lighthouse built: 1877 (originally in Chatham). Automated: 1955.
Height of tower: 48 feet.
Previous optic: Fourth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: DCB 224.
Characteristic: Alternating red and white flash every 5 seconds.
In 1836, twenty-one residents of Eastham wrote to the Boston Marine Society asking for a lighthouse on the Atlantic shore of the Cape, halfway between Highland Light and the twin lights at Chatham. Many vessels had been wrecked on the Nauset Bars offshore. To distinguish the location from the single light in North Truro and the double lights at Chatham, it was determined that there would be three lighthouses. The trio acquired a famous nickname, the “Three Sisters of Nauset.”
Erosion eventually threatened to claim the original towers. Three new shingled wooden lighthouses, 22 feet high, were built 30 feet west of the old towers in 1892. By 1911, the cliff had eroded to within eight feet of the northernmost tower, and the authorities decided to change the station to a single light. The center tower was given a flashing white light and was attached to the 1876 keeper’s house.
In 1918, the two defunct “Sisters” were sold to a private owner. By 1923, the remaining Sister was in poor condition. Meanwhile, Chatham Light Station was changed from two lights to a single light. The discontinued 48-foot cast-iron north tower from Chatham was transported to Eastham. The last of the wooden Sisters was sold and incorporated into a residence.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the National Park Service purchased the 1892 Three Sisters towers from their private owners. A restoration of the Three Sisters was completed in 1989, and their new site—about 1,800 feet from the beach—was opened for tours.
Erosion threatened Nauset Light by the 1990s. The Nauset Light Preservation Society (NLPS) was soon formed to save the lighthouse. After much debate, a new site was chosen for the tower in 1996. The team of International Chimney and Expert House Movers was contracted for the relocation.
Fascinating Fact 
This was the only place in the country where the government decided to build three lighthouses at a single location. The present tower, moved here in 1923, was painted white until the early 1940s, when the upper half was painted red to increase its daytime visibility. It has become a Cape Cod icon, gracing countless postcards, calendars, and potato chip bags.
On November 15, 1996, workers lifted the tower and transferred its weight to two heavy-duty dollies hitched to a truck. The tower was moved to the edge of the road before the end of the day. The move was completed the next day when the truck hauled the lighthouse across the road to its new home, 336 feet from the old site. On October 27, 1998, the keeper’s house was moved to a new foundation near the lighthouse.
SIDE TRIP: Salt Pond Visitor Center
The Salt Pond Visitor Center is conveniently located on Route 6 in Eastham, at the intersection with Nauset Road. This is the Cape Cod National Seashore’s main visitor facility. There are educational exhibits and an excellent bookstore. There are walking trails on the grounds, including the quarter-mile Buttonbush Trail, featuring a guide rope and signs printed in large lettering and Braille.
Of special interest to lighthouse fans is the fourth-order Fresnel lens that was removed from Nauset Light in 1981. The center is open daily all year, with increased hours in the summer.
Salt Pond Visitor Center
Route 6
Eastham, MA
Phone: 508-255-3421
The Cape Cod National Seashore now owns the lighthouse. NLPS operates the lighthouse as a private aid to navigation and is responsible for all maintenance. The group also holds lighthouse open houses from May through October. For more information, contact the Nauset Light Preservation Society, (508-240-2612, www.nausetlight.org.)
To reach the lighthouse from Route 6, turn right onto Brackett Road. (Heading north, Brackett Road is at the third traffic light from the Eastham/Orleans rotary). Continue to the end of Brackett Road and turn left onto Nauset Road. Take the first right onto Cable Road. At the end of Cable Road, turn left onto Ocean View Drive to the parking lot. (In season, there’s a fee to park in the Cape Cod National Seashore lot.) Walk along the path to the lighthouse.
There’s also a sign at the parking lot pointing out the walking trail (about 0.3 miles) that leads to the Three Sisters lighthouses on Cable Road. The National Park Service offers occasional tours of the site. Call 508-255-3421 for the schedule and details. There are also a small number of parking spaces—including handicapped spaces—close to the Three Sisters on Cable Road.
