Lighthouse Frenzy

See the lighthouse in the distance, above? I must admit that my thoughts do not often turn to lighthouses, but this week we have a guest from Switzerland whose passion is exactly that, visiting lighthouses, or at least seeing them from the outside if they are not open. She came equipped with a map that shows every single lighthouse along the Cape Cod coast and a book, required reading for lighthouse affectionados, describing the lighthouses of New England. Of course, her first question was where the lighthouses in Wellfleet are located. I was able to tell her that our town used to have a lighthouse, of course, but that someone had moved it to California. It occurred to me that I have never blogged about the former lighthouses of Wellfleet, so here we go. First off, there was once a lighthouse at Mayo Beach, on the harbor, although the house beside it still stands. For a photo of the house with lighthouse, go here and, for a report on its rediscovery, read this Cape Cod Times article from June 2008. Wellfleet also had a lighthouse at Billingsgate, visible here. There should have been a lighthouse on the backshore as well, but the Internet does not provide any clues to where it might have stood, just reference to the Lifesaving station at Cahoon Hollow, now the Beachcomber Restaurant. Wellfleet has a small lighthouse downtown, the one above the Lighthouse Restaurant, to the left above, but, I guess it does not really qualify for our survey. I sent our guest off with my camera so blog readers can see the remaining real lighthouses nearby: Highland Light in Truro, and the lighthouse at Race Point in Provincetown. What an amazing photo she took of the Highland Light! The two ladies returned home, delighted with their visit to the Outer Cape. In Provincetown, they found a print of Cape Cod, with all its lighthouses drawn around the circumference!