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12 of Maine's Lights

Bass Harbor Head Light
Located on Mount Desert Island, the Bass Harbor Head Island Light [left] was established and constructed in 1858. Still operational as an active aid to navigation, this light was automated in 1978.

Constructed of brick and stone, the cylindrical tower is white with a black lantern with a Fourth Order Fresnel lens, which replaced a Fifth Order lens in 1902. A pyramidal fog signal building was constructed of brick in 1898; this bell signal is now inactive.

The wood frame t-shaped keeper's house was constructed at the time of the tower's erection in 1858. A brick oil house was constructed in 1902, and a barn in 1905.

Cape Neddick "Nubble" Light
At 88 feet above the mean high water mark, the Cape Neddick Light was built in 1879. The tower itself is 41 feet high. The light is located on a promontory east of York Beach and first shined its light in 1879 after a five years of construction.

The Nubble beacon flashes red at six-second intervals and can be seen at 13 nautical miles at sea.

Dyce Head Light
At the mouth of the Penobscot River and the north side of the entrance to Castine Harbor, the Dyce Head Light was built in 1829 and discontinued in 1935. The Town of Castine owns the light.

Grindle Point Light
Overlooking the entrance to Gilkey Harbor at Islesboro, the Grindle Point Light [right] is 54 feet above the mean high water mark. Originally built in 1850, it was replaced with the present structure in 1875. Photo by Jeremy d'Entremont

Hendricks Head Light
The white square light tower on the east side of the Sheepscot River at the present Southport community was built in 1829.

Indian Island Light
Indian Island Light, at the present entrance to Rockport Harbor, was so named because native Americans took refuge there during the French and Indian Wars. Once Rockport began to develop as a shipbuilding and lime manufacturing center, the light help guide commercial vessels.

In 1849, the US government bought the island from Silas Piper for $25, then in 1850 built the combined lighthouse and keeper’s quarters for $3,500.

The first light was a lantern mounted atop the keeper’s house. In 1856, a 4th-Order Fresnel lens was installed, but discontinued in 1859. Sixteen years later, a new house and tower were built, and the light was reactivate at a cost of $9,000.

Indian Island Light was discontinued in 1934 and replaced by an automatic light on nearby Lowell Rock. The lighthouse property has been privately owned ever since. The well-maintained lighthouse can be seen from Marine Park and other locations on Rockport’s shore, but it is best admired from asea looking onshore. Photo by R. M. Miles.

Isle au Haut Light
The French explorer Samuel de Champlain the rock outcrop "Isle Haute," "High Island" based on its elevation, over 500 feet at it’s highest point.

The island, providing shelter from fierce northeast winds, has long served as the home for fishermen working the waters of East Penobscot Bay. The island's population once numbered upwards to 800, but now has about 50 year-round residents.

Built in 1907 at a cost of $14,000, Isle au Haut Light was the last traditional-style lighthouse built in Maine. The light’s construction is typical of many of the Maine navigational with a granite base and brick tower, as shown in this construction diagram now in the US Coast Guard Academy Library.

However, at 40 feet above mean high tide, it reaches higher than many of its counterparts. The tower is somewhat offshore and is reached by a wooden walkway.

As with many other Maine lights, Isle au Haut was automated in 1934. In 1986, private parties purchased the keeper’s house, which they converted into a B and B. The actual lighthouse is federal government property and is maintained by the US Coast Guard as an active aid to navigation that flashes red and white.

Marshall Point Light
The first Marshall Point Light was constructed of rubble stone 1832 on a four-acre plot — with a quarter mile of shoreline — bought the year earlier by the US government for $120. The tower and keeper's house cost $2,900 to construct.

The round tower originally was 20 feet high, but was rebuilt in 1858 and elevated to 24 feet at the light level. The first 12 feet of the “new” tower were constructed of granite, then of brick for the top half. The 5th order light is white and fixed, not flashing. In 1898, an additional tower and 36-inch bell were added. However, in 1969 the bell was replaced by a fog horn and the bell tower dismantled.

Marshall Point Light was electrified in 1935, with the outdated kerosene lamp kept as a back-up. In 1971 the light was automated. Since then, the Fresnel lens has been removed, and the visible signal now comes from an electric light shining through a plastic lens.

The Town of St. George was granted ownership by the federal government in 1998, but the light and fog horn continue to be the responsibilities of the US Coast Guard.

More recently, the Light is featured in a scene in the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump.”

Monhegan Island Light
Monhegan Island, meaning “far away island” to the Penobscot Indians, and its light are located about 10 miles off the central Maine coast, southwest of Port Clyde.

The light and a keeper’s granite house were built 1857. It was expanded with a wood addition and covered walkway to the light tower in 1874 when the federal government approved $5,000 for construction of an addition. The original structures were replaced or altered several times over the years.

During recent times, the island light has received more attention than some other Maine lights as it became a destination for naturalists and artists.

In 1954 by Thomas Alva Edison’s youngest son, Theodore, founded The Monhegan Associates, whose goal was to help preserve the island’s natural setting. The Associates eventually acquired and converted the lighthouse keeper’s quarters into a museum.

By 1998 the Association had expanded its scope and funding and acquired the 47-foot lighthouse from the US Coast Guard, which allowed them to dismantle the chain-link fence (see Library of Congress picture) and offer public access.

The Coast Guard, however, maintains control over the lantern room, which is still used to provide navigational aid, a light flashing every 15 seconds from an elevation of 178 feet above mean sea level.

Owl's Head Light
President John Quincy Adams authorized construction of Owl's Head Light in 1825. The tower was constructed of white granite in 1826 and rises 87 feet above grade and 100 feet above mean sea level. The original structure was replaced in 1852.

The original lamps and reflectors were replaced in 1856 by a 4th-order Fresnel lens, which remains in use today.

The Owls Head Light sits on the windy East Penobscot Bay and provides stunning views north, east and south.

Pemaquid Point Light
Considered by tourists as one of the Maine's most picturesque lighthouses, the Pemaquid Point Light was commissioned by President John Quincy Adams in 1826 and built in 1827 at the west of the entrance to Muscongus Bay. The price of the land was $90, and the cost of construction was $2,800.

The light's original energy source was whale oil, followed by kerosene, gas and electricity. This manned aid to navigation was automated in 1934.

Pemaquid Point Light is a mere 30 feet tall from the ground, but rises 79 feet above mean high tide and can be seen from 14 nautical miles at sea. The light, automatically switches on and off at dusk and dawn, flashes an 11,000-candle-power beam every six seconds.

Adjacent to the light is a brick engine house and fog bell tower, which were constructed in 1987 to augment the visible warning, an enhancement that is especially important during frequent periods of heavy New England flog. When the light was automated, the onshore fog gong was replaced by a gong buoy.

The Pemaquid Point Light is situated atop a dramatic geologic formation of uplifted, turned and exposed rock formations comprised of granite and gneiss, which testify to the location's tumultuous prehistoric heritage. Photo by R. M. Miles.

Rockland Breakwater Light
Located at Jameson Point at the end of the granite Rockland Breakwater that separates Rockland Harbor from the Penobscot Bay, this light was established in 1827 and first lighted in 1902.

Constructed of dressed stone and brick, the light was manned until it was automated in 1964, and remains an active aid to navigation with a Fourth Order Fresnel lens and a 39-foot focal plane. In addition to the light, the aid is fitted with a horn.

The light and its out buildings is listed on the National Register of History places and carried the reference number 81000067. National Maritime photo by Ralph Eshelman.