Boston Light has stood since 1716 and was automated in 1998, but Congress kept a keeper on it; when Sally Snowman retired in 2023, the US lost its last one

A lighthouse can run without a person inside it. Boston Light went automatic in 1998. Yet a keeper stayed on the island until 2023. It was the last lighthouse in the country to be automated, but it remained staffed because Congress authorized it in 1989, according to the National Park Service's official Boston Light record. The United States lost its last official lighthouse keeper when Sally Snowman retired. This is the story of a job that stayed alive by law.

A harbor that swallowed ships

The harbor was a rough place to sail. The park service explains that Boston was Britain’s busiest North American port in the 1700s, and the shifting tides kept hiding and revealing deadly rocks and shoals. In 1715, the town petitioned the colonial government for a lighthouse. Ships entering and leaving the port paid a tax to fund it. The first lighthouse in the harbor was a tower on Little Brewster Island, first lit on September 16, 1716.


A job with real danger

George Worthylake was the first keeper. NPS records show he and five others drowned off the edge of the island in November 1718. Benjamin Franklin wrote a poem about the tragedy at the age of 12. The second keeper, Robert Saunders, also died just days into the job. The third keeper, John Hays, had better luck. He asked for a fog cannon, and the island got one in 1719, which remained in service for the next 132 years.

War, fire, and reconstruction

Boston Light also had a role in the American Revolution. British troops took over the lighthouse in 1774. It was burned by a small colonial force in July 1775. Then in June of 1776, the British blew up the tower as they departed from Boston. Because the original tower was destroyed, the agency says Boston Light cannot claim to be the oldest standing lighthouse in the country. It was rebuilt by Massachusetts in 1783 and purchased by the federal government in 1790. Today it is 89 feet tall.

Automated, but not empty

The light itself went automatic in 1998. So what did a keeper do then? NPR reporter Tovia Smith reports that the Coast Guard keeps the light and foghorn going. The rest of the job fell to Snowman after she was hired in 2003. That included everything from cleaning bugs and cobwebs from the tower and boathouse to mowing the grass. The light is still used as a navigational aid. NPR also notes that she was the first woman in the job and was known for dressing in period costume.

A childhood dream come true

Snowman's story starts early. Her father, a Coast Guard veteran, brought her to Boston Light when she was 10. She fell in love with it and began to dream of being its keeper. Years later, she recounted how it turned out to be "a fairy tale come true." She was also the first civilian to hold the post since 1941. She retired in 2023 after 20 years. The National Park Service calls Snowman the last official lighthouse keeper in the United States, while NPR describes her as the country's last Coast Guard lighthouse keeper. The light never went out; what ended was the human job associated with it.

What the island looks like now

Little Brewster Island covers seven acres and holds six structures, including the tower and the keeper's home. The lens is 11 feet tall and flashes every 10 seconds. Kathy Abbott, chief executive of nonprofit Boston Harbor Now, said that taking over the site is a rare opportunity. She said it should remain in public hands and accessible to visitors as well. For now, the park service's page lists Boston Light as not open to the public.

The National Park Service recognizes Boston Light as the oldest light station in the United States, dating to 1716. The tower standing there today was rebuilt in 1783. It is also a National Historic Landmark and is managed by the U.S. Coast Guard.

A small story with a big question

Boston Light took an unusual path. An authorization from Congress kept a person on the island long after the light went automatic. Then in 2023 that chapter finally closed. The building's future is once again an open question: in August 2026, federal officials announced they're offering to give the lighthouse property away at no cost to a local government or nonprofit willing to take on its upkeep, as the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security consider it excess to their needs. The beacon itself isn't going anywhere; the Coast Guard will keep operating the light and foghorn regardless of who owns the surrounding buildings, but interested organizations have until October 2 to submit letters of interest. Whatever comes next for the island, Snowman's 20 years remind us that some jobs can be about more than the task itself. They can be about care, history, and simply being there.