Hyannis Lighthouse

During the 1800s Hyannis' importance as a port for fishing and trade expanded, and by the 1840s over 200 shipmasters were living in Hyannis and Hyannisport. A local man, Daniel Snow Hallett, recognized the need for a lighthouse and decided to privately establish one. He was described as a “very genial gentleman of the old school” who “always manifested a keen interest in the various activities of the village.” Daniel Snow Hallett moved a small, one-room shack to the spot where the Hyannis Lighthouse now stands. In the loft he installed a light that shone through a four-paned window. His only child, Daniel Bunker Hallet helped maintain the light. In the evenings, the boy walked two miles with his dog, Pilot, from Pickens Cove across the fields to the shack. He would sleep in the loft, keeping the whale-oil lantern trimmed and burning, then return home in the morning to eat breakfast before going to school. The shack became known as “The Bug,” and some say its lantern and reflector were surplus from Point Gammon Light.