A colored lithograph of the first iron lighthouse at Minots Ledge at one of the Cohasset Rocks. The area was known to be dangerous due to the unmarked rocks that made up a nearly one-mile ledge offshore. Between 1832 and 1841, an estimated 40 wrecks occurred at Minots Ledge. In 1843, the Lighthouse Service recognized the dire need for a lighthouse and recommended an iron-pile structure drilled into the rocks that would offer less resistance to the waves than a stone tower. A cast-iron spider, or capping, weighing 5 tons, the keeper's quarter, and a lantern room were added to the top. This first lighthouse was eventually destroyed during a terrible storm April 16, 1851, killing two assistant keepers.
A tall wave crashes through the lower iron piles of the lighthouse. The print is framed within a rectangle with round top corners. The text below the seascape lists the lighthouse's measurements and publication detail of the print. According to the text, the drawing from which this print is after was awarded a premium at the late Mechanic's Fair.
