On Ten Pound Island, a lighthouse was built in 1821 to safely direct sailing ships into Gloucester Harbor. While staying at the keeper's house in 1880, Winslow Homer painted some of America's greatest works of art. The lighthouse station was rebuilt in 1881 and continued serving the maritime community until 1965, when the keeper's house was razed and the tower abandoned. Under the leadership of the Lighthouse Preservation Society, concerned citizens restored and relit the tower on August 5, 1989, in commemoration of America's Lighthouse Bicentennial.