File:Gay Head Light - 1839 Woodcut Print.jpg
The installation of lightning rods on lighthouses, church steeples, and tall buildings slowly came into use after Ben Franklin invented the lightning rod in 1752. As the co-discover of the Gulf Stream, and as an avid sailor - Ben Franklin was well aware of the importance of lighthouses. This awareness is evident in a famous Benjamin Franklin quote, "Lighthouses are more useful than churches."
The original wooden Gay Head Light was removed from above the Gay Head cliffs in spring of 1857. The following Gazette advertisement is the only documentation as to the removal of the 1799 Gay Head Light, "AUCTION AT GAY HEAD! The old Lighthouse, a lot of Oil-Buts, and various other articles will be sold to the highest bidder at 12 M. April 14th. By order of Lieut. W. B. Franklin, Engr. Sec'y Light House Board." As of this writing, no other historic information is available relative to what happened to the island's first Gay Head Light that was constructed of wood in 1799.
According to records, a 10 parabolic whale-oil-fired lens was probably installed c1838 when repairs and improvements were made to the lighthouse tower. The magnification and projection intensity of the new parabolic lens must have served as a great improvement over the first whale oil fired spider lamp installed in 1799. The intensified reflective properties of the parabolic lens would have made the Gay Head Light's beam visible further out to sea.
In early 1838, the lantern room was lowered 14 feet (4m) in an attempt to get the light under the fog. The lantern room was lowered again the same year by 3 feet (1m) during a major rebuilding of the lantern and deck. In 1844, the octagonal wooden lighthouse tower was moved back 75 feet from the eroding clay cliffs by John Mayhew of Edgartown at a cost of $386.87.
