East Chop Light stands on a bluff above Vineyard Haven Harbor and Vineyard Sound in Oak Bluffs as one of Martha’s Vineyard’s five lighthouses and a prominent maritime landmark. The site began as a semaphore station in the early 1800s, then became a private light built by Captain Silas Daggett around 1869 before Congress purchased the property in 1875. The present cast-iron tower was erected in 1878 and later became known as the “Chocolate Lighthouse” for its long brown-red paint. Automated in 1933, it later faced possible demolition, but a successful preservation campaign secured its survival, restoration, and renewed public access.

Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts · USA