The FirstNavigational Lights

In the New World,navigational lights were probably lanterns hungat harbor entrances.The first lighthouse was put up by the Massachusetts BayColony in 1716 on little

Brewster Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor.Paid for and maintained by"light dues"levied on ships,the originalbeacon was blown up in 1776.By then there were only a

dozen of so truelighthouses in the colonies. Little over a century later,there were 700lighthouses.

The firstlighthouses erected on the west coast in the 1850's featured the same basic newEngland design:a Cape Cod dwelling with the tower rising from the center or

standing close by.InNew England and elsewhere,though,lighthousesreflected a variety of architectural styles.Since most stations in theNortheast were built on rocky

eminences,enormoustowers were not the rule.Some were made of stone and brick,others of wood ormetal. Some stood on pilings or stilts;some were fastened to rock with

iron rods.Farthersouth from Maryland through the Florida Keys,the coast was low and sandy. It was oftennecessary to build tall towers there一massive structures like the

majestic Cape Hatteras,North Carolina lighthouse,which was lit in 1870.At 190feet,it is the tallest brick lighthouse in the country.

Notwithstandingdifferences in appearance and construction,most American lighthouses sharedseveral features:a light,living quarters and sometimes a bell(or,later,a

foghorn).They alsohad something else in common. A keeper and usually,the keeper's family.Thekeeper' s essential task was trimming the lantern wick in order to maintain a

steady,brightflame.The earliest keepers came from every walk of life;they wereseamen,farmers,mechanics,rough mill hands and appointments were often handedout by

local customscommissioners as political plums.After the administration of lighthouses wastaken over in 1 852 by the United states Lighthouse Board,an agency of the

TreasuryDepartment,the keeper gradually became highly professional.Why does theauthor mention the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

A.The first lanternwicks were developed there.

B.It was theheadquarters of the United States Lighthouse Board.

C.Many of thetallest lighthouses were built there.

D.The firstlighthouse in North America was built there.