WayfarrowDerby Wharf Light
Lighthouse · Essex County, Massachusetts
Derby Wharf Light is a lighthouse in Essex County, Massachusetts. Massachusetts has 81 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow, 19 of them in Essex County.
It was built in 1871, in the late 19th century, making it the 18th oldest of the 50 in Massachusetts with a recorded construction date; its light sits 25 feet above the water; the light characteristic is recorded as Fl R 6s (a red flash every 6 seconds), with a range of about 4 nautical miles; it was deactivated in 1977.
Status check, 2026-11: Small square brick tower inside Salem Maritime National Historical Park. Height left empty because sources disagree: about 20 ft (NPS), 14 ft to the lantern level, 17.5 ft to the center of the lantern, and 13 ft. Derby Wharf Light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It stands at 42.5166° N, 70.8836° W.
Key facts
| Current structure built | 1871 |
|---|---|
| Focal height | 25 ft |
| Light characteristic | Fl R 6s |
| Range | 4 nautical miles |
| Deactivated | 1977 |
| Heritage designation | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| National Register | Listed |
| Coordinates | 42.51656, -70.88358 |
Nearby places
- Fort Pickering Lightlighthouse · Essex County · 1.1 mi
- Hospital Point Range Rear Lightlighthouse · Essex County · 2.2 mi
- Hospital Point Range Front Lightlighthouse · Essex County · 2.5 mi
- Marblehead Lightlighthouse · Essex County · 2.7 mi
- Bakers Island Lightlighthouse · Essex County · 5.2 mi
- Egg Rock Lightlighthouse · Essex County · 5.8 mi
- Beaver Brookghost town · Essex County · 5.8 mi
- The Graves Lightlighthouse · Plymouth County · 10.5 mi
- Haywardvilleghost town · Middlesex County · 11.2 mi
- Aqawamghost town · Essex County · 11.5 mi
- Eastern Point Lightlighthouse · Essex County · 12 mi
- Ten Pound Island Lightlighthouse · Essex County · 12.6 mi
Questions
Where is Derby Wharf Light?
Derby Wharf Light is in Essex County, Massachusetts, at 42.5166, -70.8836.
How many lighthouses are in Essex County?
Essex County, Massachusetts has 19 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow.
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wikidata — Wikidata item (CC0)
- National Register of Historic Places — National Register of Historic Places record (public-domain)
- Wikidata — Wikipedia article (linked as a source; text not used) (CC0)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.