Prior to 1885 the Old Colony Steamboat Company maintained its own light on the island.

There were concerns about its reliability, and in 1885 the lighthouse board requested funds to build its own light.

[1][2] A $10,000 appropriation provided for a tower with a fog bell and a separate keeper's house, and in 1889 the light was shown for the first time.

[2] The plans for the keeper's house were reused for the Coney Island Light, built the following year.

[2] This tower collapsed in 1988, and the site was abandoned, though the light on the south of the island remains in service.