Minot's Ledge - Massachusetts

After the destruction of the original Minot's Ledge in a storm in 1851, the Lighthouse Board decided a stone tower should go up on Cohasset Rocks in the same location as the old skeleton tower, and General Joseph G. Totten of the Lighthouse Board submitted drawings that were followed almost to the letter in final construction. On June 20, 1855, work on the new edifice began. The workmen removed the stumps of the old tower and cut away the ledge to prepare a foundation for the stone base of the tower. Eight iron poles sunk in the old holes and running through the lower courses acted as a frame to hold the foundation stones in place. Two-inch, galvanized-iron bonding bolts and cement further held the courses of granite stones in place. This solid foundation rose up to forty feet, and an additional forty feet comprised the living, working, and storage space of the lighthouse.

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