History
Westfield was once part of the Town of Portland and the natural harbor there was known as Portland Harbor. When the Town of Westfield was established formally in 1823, the harbor area became known as Barcelona.
The lighthouse was established in 1829 through the efforts of Thomas B. Campbell. The conical tower and attached keeper's cottage were constructed of fieldstone, with a natural, emplaced foundation. The light was emitted by eleven lamps with 14 inch reflectors. It was the first lighthouse in the world to be powered by natural gas, which Campbell transported from a "burning spring" about a mile distant by means of wooden pipes. Thirty years later, in 1859, the lighthouse was deactivated, but it still stands today, in private ownership.
The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Read more about this topic: Barcelona Light
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)
“All history is a record of the power of minorities, and of minorities of one.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“History, as an entirety, could only exist in the eyes of an observer outside it and outside the world. History only exists, in the final analysis, for God.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)