USLHS

The first colonial American aid to navigation, of which we have firm evidence, was the beacon erected at Nantasket (now Hull) Massachusetts in 1673. The beacon was a small stone tower erected at Point Allerton, a promontory  guarding the south approach to Boston Harbor. The citizens of that community provided funds to furnish "fier-bales of pitch and ocum" in an iron basket surrounding the small beacon.

Lewis continued his inspection noting that off the beaten path lighthouses often had more lamps and reflectors than major seacoast harbor lights, like Boston; that some areas had clusters of lights and other stretches were devoid of any light at all. He attackecl the rated range of the various lights.