History of Borden Flats Lighthouse, Fall River, Massachusetts
© Jeremy D'Entremont. Do not reproduce any part of this website without permission of the author.
The city of Fall River, situated where the Taunton River flows into Mount Hope Bay, was famed as the "Textile Capital of the World" in the nineteenth century. At one time, more than 100 cotton mills in Fall River employed over 30,000 people. The city's location allowed easy travel by water to Providence, Newport, and beyond. Beginning in 1847, the Fall River Line of steamships provided a link to Boston and New York City.
Borden Flats Light before 1900
For a number of years before the lighthouse was built to warn of a dangerous reef at the mouth of the Taunton River, an unlighted day beacon marked the spot. The 1872 annual report of the Lighthouse Board described a "stone beacon, with iron column and day-mark." On June 16, 1880, a sum of $25,000 was appropriated for a lighthouse on Borden Flats, and construction soon commenced.
A cylindrical cast-iron caisson was sunk in place on the reef and then filled with concrete. The components of the superstructure were delivered in July 1881. The cast-iron tower, which doubled as living quarters for a keeper, was erected on the caisson, and the light went into service on October 1, 1881, with a fourth-order Fresnel lens producing a fixed red light 47 feet above mean high water.
A fog bell, with automatic striking machinery, was installed on the side of the tower. There were five stories above the basement, including the lantern, with; two levels were used as living quarters. Rainwater was collected in gutters and deposited into a cistern in the structure's basement level, providing the keeper's water supply.
A cylindrical cast-iron caisson was sunk in place on the reef and then filled with concrete. The components of the superstructure were delivered in July 1881. The cast-iron tower, which doubled as living quarters for a keeper, was erected on the caisson, and the light went into service on October 1, 1881, with a fourth-order Fresnel lens producing a fixed red light 47 feet above mean high water.
A fog bell, with automatic striking machinery, was installed on the side of the tower. There were five stories above the basement, including the lantern, with; two levels were used as living quarters. Rainwater was collected in gutters and deposited into a cistern in the structure's basement level, providing the keeper's water supply.
Joseph Meyer was keeper on October 8, 1907, when a severe storm hit the area.
U.S. Coast Guard photo, circa 1900
In the station's journal, Keeper Meyer reported:
Violent SW gale. Occasional heavy squalls. 11 am - A barge of about 800 tons of coal sank in the harbor -- two men drowned, and a sloop of 10 tons was wrecked on the beach.
In his journal, Meyer also frequently described the area around the lighthouse frozen or surrounded by chunks of ice in winter.
John H. Paul became keeper in July 1912 and remained at Borden Flats Light until 1927. On August 3, 1912, two men were passing near the lighthouse in a rowboat. As the men attempted to change places, the boat overturned. Keeper Paul saw the accident and immediately launched his boat.
Violent SW gale. Occasional heavy squalls. 11 am - A barge of about 800 tons of coal sank in the harbor -- two men drowned, and a sloop of 10 tons was wrecked on the beach.
In his journal, Meyer also frequently described the area around the lighthouse frozen or surrounded by chunks of ice in winter.
John H. Paul became keeper in July 1912 and remained at Borden Flats Light until 1927. On August 3, 1912, two men were passing near the lighthouse in a rowboat. As the men attempted to change places, the boat overturned. Keeper Paul saw the accident and immediately launched his boat.
One of the men was unable to swim and was lost in the waves. The other man clung to the overturned boat and was swiftly rescued by Paul. The keeper later received a bronze Carnegie lifesaving medal for this rescue.
John Paul, keeper 1912-27
Keeper Paul's journal entry for December 12, 1922, read:
Oyster boat exploded with 150 gallons of gasoline -- 4 men burnt, were carried to hospital.
Most of Keeper Paul's journal entries describe endless painting or scraping of the interior and exterior of the lighthouse.
Elaine Covo Westcott lived at Borden Flats Light, where her father was keeper, until the age of 11. She summed up life at the lighthouse:
Everything was brass. You polished brass from morning to night with government polish.
Oyster boat exploded with 150 gallons of gasoline -- 4 men burnt, were carried to hospital.
Most of Keeper Paul's journal entries describe endless painting or scraping of the interior and exterior of the lighthouse.
Elaine Covo Westcott lived at Borden Flats Light, where her father was keeper, until the age of 11. She summed up life at the lighthouse:
Everything was brass. You polished brass from morning to night with government polish.
The lighthouse was battered in the hurricane of September 21, 1938, as were most lighthouses on New England's south-facing coast.
The storm left the tower with a pronounced tilt, which it still has. A new, much wider cylindrical caisson was subsequently added around the old one to provide more protection.
Truman Sawyer served at Borden Flats Light for the Coast Guard from November 1955 to December 1956. In a phone interview in 2003, he recalled that there were usually two men at the lighthouse at a time, and that the crewmen had six days at the lighthouse followed by two days off. The light still ran on kerosene, as did a refrigerator and stove. The fog bell mechanism was still wound by hand. Although he looked back on the experience fondly, Sawyer said that at the time "it was like punishment."
Truman Sawyer served at Borden Flats Light for the Coast Guard from November 1955 to December 1956. In a phone interview in 2003, he recalled that there were usually two men at the lighthouse at a time, and that the crewmen had six days at the lighthouse followed by two days off. The light still ran on kerosene, as did a refrigerator and stove. The fog bell mechanism was still wound by hand. Although he looked back on the experience fondly, Sawyer said that at the time "it was like punishment."
Borden Flats Light was electrified in 1957 and automated in 1963.
A wider base was added after the hurricane of 1938
In 1977, the Fresnel lens was replaced by a modern plastic lens. The fog bell remained in use until 1983 when it was replaced by an electronic foghorn. Today, the tower is about a half mile from the Braga Bridge, built in 1965 and named for one of the first men from Fall River to die in World War II. The lighthouse remains an active aid to navigation, serviced by the Coast Guard's Aids to Navigation Team Bristol (Rhode Island). Coast Guard personnel completed some renovation of the exterior and interior in 2002.
In September 2006, it was announced that the lighthouse would be available for transfer to a suitable applicant under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. No organizations expressed interest, meaning the lighthouse was sold at auction to the general public. In September 2008, the high bidder was attorney Michael Gabriel of Carson City, Nevada, at $55,000. In June 2010, it was announced that Mr. Gabriel had failed to close on the property, and that it would be auctioned once again.
In September 2006, it was announced that the lighthouse would be available for transfer to a suitable applicant under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. No organizations expressed interest, meaning the lighthouse was sold at auction to the general public. In September 2008, the high bidder was attorney Michael Gabriel of Carson City, Nevada, at $55,000. In June 2010, it was announced that Mr. Gabriel had failed to close on the property, and that it would be auctioned once again.
The high bidder of the second auction in August 2010, at $56,569, was Nick Korstad of Portland, Oregon. “I want to restore it back to what is was originally and I want to make it accessible to the public,” Korstad told the Fall River Herald News.
Nick Korstad, right, with his mother, Cindy
In 2011, Korstad gave the lighthouse a new color scheme with a red band and a red lantern roof. He says that local boaters appreciate the greater visibility of the lighthouse, which now shows up better against the supports of the Braga Bridge and the towers of the Brayton Point Power Station.
Korstad continued to restore the lighthouse inside and out, and he made the lighthouse available for public tours and overnight stays. In May 2018, Korstad sold the lighthouse to a new owner, who announced that he intends to continue opening it for overnight stays.
The lighthouse remains an active aid to navigation. It can be seen from the Borden Light Marina. While in Fall River be sure to visit Battleship Cove, home port to the Battleship Massachusetts. The excellent Fall River Marine Museum is also nearby, featuring an extensive Titanic exhibit.
Korstad continued to restore the lighthouse inside and out, and he made the lighthouse available for public tours and overnight stays. In May 2018, Korstad sold the lighthouse to a new owner, who announced that he intends to continue opening it for overnight stays.
The lighthouse remains an active aid to navigation. It can be seen from the Borden Light Marina. While in Fall River be sure to visit Battleship Cove, home port to the Battleship Massachusetts. The excellent Fall River Marine Museum is also nearby, featuring an extensive Titanic exhibit.
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Left and above: Inside the lighthouse during a 2010 visit.
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Part of the reef on which the lighthouse was built can be seen here. Photo by Nick Korstad.
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Below: Some photos from a visit in October 2012.
Martin Thompson, keeper 1898-1905
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Keepers: (This list is a work in progress. If you have any information on the keepers of this lighthouse, I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected]. Anyone copying this list onto another web site does so at their own risk, as the list is always subject to updates and corrections.)
George Sherman (1881-1882); Peter Connell (1882-1884); Herbert Kingsley (1884-1885); Herman Georgy (1885-1898); Martin Thompson (1898-1905); Joseph Meyer (1905-1912); John H. Paul (1912 -1927); Joseph Covo (1927-1943); Norvell Douglas Jr. (c. 1950); John F. McGeough (Coast Guard officer in charge, c. mid-1950s); James Reed (c. 1959-1961); Walter Hanson (Coast Guard, c.1959-1961); Richard Lehl (1961-1962): Roger Perreault (1962-1963); Donald Rose (Coast Guard, c. 1950); Manuel Tavares (Coast Guard, c. 1950); Calvin B. Davis (Coast Guard, c. mid-1950s); Truman Sawyer (Coast Guard, 1955-1956); George Boley (Coast Guard, 1959-1963); Howard Beebe (Coast Guard c. 1959-1960); J.F. Oriolt (Coast Guard 1960-1961); Albert Houde ICoast Guard 1961-1962); Arthur Pledger (Coast Guard 1961); Richard Robinson (Coast Guard, 1961-1962); David Daggett (Coast Guard 1962); Donald Goguen (Coast Guard 1962); William Tracy (Coast Guard 1962-1963); John Burke (Coast Guard 1962-1963); George Boley (Coast Guard 1963); Roger Phillips (Coast Guard 1963) |