The first two floors of the lighthouse serve as living and working space, on top of which sits the cylindrical concrete tower which is another 50 feet tall.

[5] The lighthouse was built between 1940 and 1943 after a re-dredging of the Cape Cod Canal in the late 1930s, which allowed larger ships to pass through and necessitated the marking of Cleveland East Ledge, which sits quite close to the path of ships approaching the south entrance to the canal.

[5] The state of Massachusetts began the project, but in 1941 turned it over to the Coast Guard, which, after delays caused by the war, completed it in 1943.

[3] In 1978, the laying of an underwater cable to the lighthouse allowed its automation, obviating the need for the 4-man Coast Guard crew which had manned the light since its 1943 inauguration.

[5] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Cleveland Ledge Light Station in 1987.