Ned's Point Light in Mattapoisett

We paid a visit to Mattapoisett, Massachusetts to check out Ned Point Light.

The South Coast has some cool lighthouses, you just have to move a bit to find them.

I love all lighthouses and I love this one, but Ned is a pretty good example of why lighthouses need a lightkeeper shack near it. Lighthouses are more about Duty than Beauty, which of course increases their beauty immeasurably. A shack wouldn't hurt, though... even if they just keep DPW stuff in it.

A cooler name wouldn't hurt, either. "Mattapoisett Light" would be better. So would "Dexter Point Light," which was the last name of the eponymous Ned in question.

New England fishing villages most likely weren't hacked out of the forest by guys who stopped work and said, "You know what? We should give it a more catchy name, so our greatgreatgreatgreatgreatgreatgreatgreatgreat grandchildren can use it to draw in tourists," and that's probably a good thing.

Ned Point Light is also known as Ned's Point Light by the locals. It was built in 1838 for $4500 of those 1838 dollars. John Quincy Adams was instrumental in getting the funds. It is older than Mattapoisett, which was part of Rochester until 1857.

It was made with stones that they found nearby. The contractor (Leonard Hammond), who also owned the town tavern, didn't finish in time. Stalling an inspector at his tavern, he had a crew try to make it look finished. The inspector stepped into the lighthouse and fell through the floor, which was merely planks laid over barrels.

It used to have a lightkeeper's house, but that was floated across Buzzards Bay to Bourne, where it now serves Wings Neck Light.

Ned Point Light was deactivated from 1951-1963. It was restored by locals in the 1990s.

It isn't open for touring, other than once a week in the summer. It's 39 feet high and has 32 granite steps.

She guards the northern edge of Mattapoisett Harbor.