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Photo: Peter K Burian, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Nauset Light was built in Chatham in 1877. It was moved to Eastham in 1933, and first painted with its iconic red stripe in 1940s. This lighthouse has also been moved from its original location, at one point being just a few dozen feet from the ocean's edge. The move was completed in 1996, the same time it was donated to the National Park Service.
Nauset Light, officially Nauset Beach Light, is a restored lighthouse on the Cape Cod National Seashore near Eastham, Massachusetts, erected in 1923 using the 1877 tower that was moved here from the Chatham Light. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tower is a cast-iron plate shell lined with brick and stands 48 feet (15 m) high. The adjacent oil house is made of brick and has also been restored. Fully automated, the beacon is a private aid to navigation. Tours of the tower and oil house are available in summer from the Nauset Light Preservation Society which operates, maintains and interprets the site. The tower is located adjacent to Nauset Light Beach.
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This beach is wide and sandy, backed by a somewhat imposing coastal bluff. Walking the beach during winter months, you may discover the exposed brick foundations of earlier "Three Sisters" lighthouses. The trail up to the modern lighthouses will wind you through an emergent forest. Parking area always fills during July and August, barring bad weather. Arrive before 9:30AM to ensure a space. Arrive earlier if it's really hot. Seasonal restrooms and bathhouse available.
Three Sisters of Nauset
First constructed of brick in 1836, the original towers quickly fell into the ocean. The lights were rebuilt, this time on movable wooden platforms. This strategy proved successful, and the Three Sisters have been moving around the Cape ever since. They were restored in 1989, and tours have been available at their current home in Eastham ever since.
Pay a visit to Doane Rock to see the largest exposed boulder on Cape Cod. This massive boulder was deposited here by glaciers, maybe around 15,000 years ago. It's all of 18 ft high, and probably goes an additional 12 ft below the surface.
The most popular swimming beach, especially during the high summer season. Parking area closed from mid-June to Labor Day, those with disability placards exempt. When open, it fills between 11AM and 1PM daily with moderate turnover. Beach access via Little Creek Shuttle and parking area, a half mile away. Seasonal restrooms and wheelchair-accessible beach access ramp.
The excellent observation platform here offers some of the best views along the Seashore. From here you can see a landscape slowly recovering from centuries of abuse, which today provides homes for several rare species. Parking area rarely fills during late June and July. In August, parking fills occasionally with moderate turnover. The first successful transatlantic wireless communication was sent from this site in 1903. It travelled straight across the Atlantic Ocean and all the way to England's Poldhu village. Seasonal restrooms and bathhouse available.
Atwood-Higgins House
The Atwood-Higgins House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In 2010, the scope was expanded to the general area around the home, including several 20th-century out buildings.