It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Indian Island Light Station on March 23, 1988.

The keeper's house is set just south of the tower; it is a 1-1/2 story structure, with the original 1850 brick block augmented by a frame addition.

East of the tower is a large shed, consisting of two gable-roofed structures joined at a gable end; one is finished in board-and-batten siding, the other in shingles.

[3] The light station was authorized and established in 1850, and was the principal aid to navigation marking the entrance to Rockport harbor, which was then a major shipbuilding and lime rock processing center.

The light was originally mounted on top of the keeper's house,[3] with a fourth-order Fresnel lens installed in 1856.