Portsmouth Lighthouse New Hampshire was my next stop after leaving Marblehead. I drove to Portsmouth Harbor and found this beautiful old Lighthouse. It sits near a Coast Guard Station. Through my reading I have found that the lighthouse has always been near military post of some type. The commander of the post often bore the responsibilities of lighthouse keeper.

the Lighthouse was first constructed in 1771 and was built beside a fort. In reading, I found an interesting thing. Paul Revere made a ride before his famous midnight ride. Four months before the well known ride Revere rode north warning the colonists that the English army was seizing all stores of gun powder.

The next day John Langdon recruited several hundred men and attacked the fort. No one was killed in the battle but Langdon did leave with over one hundred barrels of gun powder. This make Portsmouth the first English fortification to surrender to colonial forces.

From the Portsmouth Lighthouse, I could see two other Lighthouses out in the harbor. The first was the Isles of Shoals, located on White Island.

The other I found was the Whaleback Lighthouse. It is in Portsmouth Harbor but is on the Maine side of the boundary.