On a windswept bluff on the "backside of Cape Cod" sit identical 15-foot towers that long ago became known as the Three Sisters of Nauset Beach. Their history began when a handful of Eastham residents petitioned the Boston Marine Society to erect a lighthouse that would lie halfway between the twin towers at Chatham and the Highland Light at Truro. To differentiate the new station from its nearby neighbors, planners decided to build three lighthouses.

The brick structures were erected in 1838 in only 38 days and were placed 150 feet apart. Their fixed white lights beamed from the high cliffs of Cape Cod and were the subject of both awe and controversy – "Three lights when one would be more efficient - This seems a shiftless and costly way of accomplishing that object," wrote Henry David Thoreau.

The forces of nature endangered the triplets as erosion ate away at the cliff. By 1890, they stood close to the edge of the bluff. In 1892, three new wooden towers were built further back, and the Fourth Order Fresnel Lenses from the old brick towers were installed. In 1911, with the northernmost tower sitting a mere eight feet from the cliff edge, the Bureau of Lighthouses finally opted to go to a single beacon -- selecting the tower in best condition to serve. The defunct two towers were sold in 1918 for $3.50 to a local family, turning them into part of the family’s summer cottage.

In 1923, the remaining Sister was in such poor condition that it was decommissioned and one of nearby Chatham's two lights were dismantled and brought to Eastham to replace it, moving its Fourth Order Fresnel Lens to the "new" lighthouse. The last of the Sisters also moved to private ownership.

The National Park Service regained ownership of the original Three Sisters towers in 1975 and reunited them in their unique configuration about 1,800 feet from Nauset Light in a natural setting. The Three Sisters underwent a half-million dollar restoration that was completed in 1989, and the unique trio remains a favorite attraction on Cape Cod.