Lightship Portsmouth
101-WAL524
Lightships and the City of Portsmouth go back to the beginning of lightship duty in this country in 1820. The first lightship was established off Craney Island at the mouth of the Elizabeth River. Working lightships were constant visitors on the Portsmouth waterfront at the buoy yard until 1966, when the last lightships were discontinued in the district. At this time Lightship #101 was brought back to Portsmouth to become a permanent fixture on the waterfront. It was to be a tribute to the lightship service and to her own first home port. The custom was for the lightship vessels to take the name of the station where they were standing duty. Thus, she was renamed Portsmouth.
In 1967 the City of Portsmouth placed this vessel on the waterfront and opened it as a museum. In 1989 LIGHTSHIP PORTSMOUTH was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Marker is at the intersection of Water Street and London Street, on the right when traveling north on Water Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
