Lighthouses of New England: Lighting up Distinctive Waterfront Real Estate, Minot’s Ledge Light, Cohasset, Massachusetts

Minot’s Ledge Light is famous for its highly exposed location on Minot’s Ledge, a 25-foot-wide rock ledge located approximately one mile offshore from the town of Cohasset.  The ledge is part of the Cohasset Rocks, a reef extending for some two miles in a southwesterly direction off Cohasset and Scituate, Massachusetts. Completed in 1850, the original design of Minot’s Ledge was an iron pile structure with spider-like legs drilled into the rock below the water.  A violent storm surged up the New England coast in April 1851, destroyed the lighthouse and killed the two keepers.  In 1860 a sturdier 114-foot high cylindrical tower was constructed of interlocking granite blocks.  It continues to operate as an active aid to navigation.  The first 40 feet of the tower are solid granite surmounted by a storage level, living quarters, work space, and a second-order lantern.  In May of 1894, a new flashing lantern was installed, with the characteristic of a one-four-three flash, which has been noted to reflect the same numerical count as the words “I love you”.  This coincidence has lead some to refer to Minot’s Ledge as the “Lover’s Light.”  Considered one of the greatest achievements in American lighthouse engineering, Minot’s Ledge Light was recognized as an American Society for Civil Engineering Landmark in 1997.

Minot's Ledge in Cohasset, MA is an historic landmark of significant engineering achievement.

Red Oaks and Beachside, two prominent homes in Cohasset that are now offered for sale by LandVest, feature dramatic views of the Minot’s Ledge lighthouse.  From both homes, the lighthouse can been viewed in all seasons and enjoyed as a reminder of life near the sea.

Red Oaks is a spectacular colonial revival manor house on 7.9 acres of private waterfront property.

Beachside is a Nantucket shingle-style home with a private mineral spring's pool, overlooking the tranquility of Little Harbor.

Cohasset is located on Boston’s South Shore where Boston Harbor meets Massachusetts Bay.  It covers nine square miles area in a setting of colonial homes and ocean vistas of spectacular beauty.  The town is about 25 miles from Boston and is predominantly residential, many of its residents making the daily commute to Boston by commuter rail, car, or commuter boat from adjoining Hingham.  Cohasset’s central village lies around a spacious common with a small pond, and includes specialty shops, the colonial First Parish Meeting House, and St. Stephen’s Church – a historic structure with a 56 bell carillon that has offered Sunday concerts since 1924.

This blog post was brought to you by Terry Boyle who assists buyers and sellers of distinctive and complex real estate transactions on the South Shore and South Coast/Buzzards Bay real estate markets of Massachusetts. Contact Terry Boyle (tboyle@landvest.com) in our Boston, Massachusetts office if you’d like to talk about this property or his other real estate listings in Massachusetts.