Limited Edition
Clark's Point, MA
Safe passage was needed for vessels entering the Bedford Harbor from Buzzards Bay, so local merchants built a simple wooden lighthouse in 1797. This primitive sentinel served until 1804, when the government commissioned the building of a 42-foot stone tower. Upon completion, the construction crew celebrated with a 100-gallon pot of chowder. The new beacon had a fixed white light at a focal plane of 50 feet.
The 1860’s saw the construction of a fortress at Clark's Point. A seven-sided, granite structure rose beside the lighthouse, eventually blocking the beacon’s view. So the lantern room was relocated to a beacon on the top of Fort Taber in 1869. In anticipation of the reverberating effects of cannon-fire, architects designed an ingenious system to protect the light from concussion. But the system’s effectiveness was never proven, as the cannons were never fired.
Clark's Point Light became obsolete in 1898 when Butler Flats Light was erected offshore. The abandoned lighthouse and fortress deteriorated when vandalism and neglect took over. Iin the 1990’s, the City of New Bedford unveiled an ambitious plan to restore historic lighthouses. Their first two projects were at Butler Flats Light and Palmer Island Light. City crews rebuilt the upper portion of the lighthouse, and on June 15, 2001 (on the 132nd anniversary of the lighthouse’s first illumination), the sentinel was re-lighted under the fanfare of fireworks, cannon blasts and the "1812 Overture".
Our sculpture depicts Clark's Point atop the rustic fort, with a crosscut view inside the interior of the walls. Hidden inside are remnants of military occupancy -- maps, supplies stored in crates and a wooden chest, a bunk bed, and torches to illuminate the dark hallways.
Edition limited to 5,000 Size 7"X4"
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