#21 Maine Thing To Do - Find a Maine Lighthouse
Portland Head Light Station is a lighthouse located in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It has been called the “Most photographed lighthouse in North America.” The lighthouse is visited by nearly one million people per year.
History
Construction began in 1787 at the directive of George Washington, and was completed on January 10, 1791. Whale oil lamps were originally used for illumination. In 1855 a fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed; that was replaced by a second-order Fresnel lens in 1864. That lens was replaced with an autobeacon in 1958. In 1787, while Maine was still part of the colony of Massachusetts, George Washington engaged two masons from the town of Portland, Jonathan Bryant and John Nichols, and instructed them to take charge of the construction of a lighthouse on Portland Head. Washington reminded them that the colonial government was poor and that the materials used to build the lighthouse should be taken from the fields and shores. They could be handled nicely when hauled by oxen on a drag, he said.
The old tower, built of rubblestone, still stands as one of the four colonial lighthouses that have never been rebuilt. Washington gave the masons four years to build the tower. While it was under construction, the federal government was formed (in 1789) and it looked for a while as though the lighthouse would not be finished. The first congress made an appropriation and authorized Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, to inform the mechanics that they could go on with the completion of the tower. The tower was completed during the year 1790 and first lighted January 10, 1791.
During the American Civil War, raids on shipping in and out of Portland Harbor became commonplace, and because of the necessity for ships at sea to sight Portland Head Light as soon as possible, the tower was raised eight feet. Today, Portland Head Light stands 80 feet above ground and 101 feet above water, its white conical tower being connected with a dwelling. The 200,000 candlepower, second-order electric light, is visible from 16 miles away.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
View Lighthouse Passport Program in a larger map
____________________________________________________________________101 links
www.mainelighthousemuseum.com
www.lighthouse.cc/bassharbor/index.html
www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=772
Click here for Halfway Rock
www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=549
www.lighthousegetaway.com/lights/maine.html

By Region
Central Region of Maine
• Lake Cobbosseecontee, Manchester, Maine: Ladies Delight Light
Down East & Acadia Region of Maine
• Addison, Maine: Nash Island Light
• Calais, Maine: Whitlocks Mill Light
• Calais, Maine: St. Croix River Light
• Castine, Maine: Dice Head Light
• Cranberry Isles, Maine: Baker Island Light
• Cutler, Maine: Little River Light
• Green Island, Maine: Blue Hill Bay Light
• Frenchboro, Maine: Great Duck Island Light
• Frenchboro, Maine: Mount Desert Rock Light
• Hancock, Maine: Crabtree Ledge Light
• Lubec, Maine: Lubec Channel Light
• Lubec, Maine: West Quoddy Head Light
• Machias, Maine: Avery Rock Light
• Machiasport, Maine: Libby Island Light
• Millbridge, Maine: Petit Manan Light
• Mistake Island, Maine: Moose Peak Light
• Mount Desert Island, Maine: Bass Harbor Head Light
• Northeast Harbor Area, Maine: Bear Island Light
• Prospect Harbor, Maine: Prospect Harbor Light
• Stonington, Maine: Deer Island Thorofare (Mark Island) Light
• Swan’s Island, Maine: Burnt Coat Harbor Light
• Winter Harbor, Maine: Egg Rock Light
• Winter Harbor, Maine: Winter Harbor Light
Mid Coast & Islands Region of Maine
• Arrowsic, Maine: Doubling Point Light
• Arrowsic, Maine: Doubling Point Range Lights
• Arrowsic, Maine: Squirrel Point Light
• Boothbay Harbor, Maine: Burnt Island Light
• Boothbay Harbor, Maine: Ram Island Light
• Bristol, Maine: Pemaquid Point Light
• Camden, Maine: Curtis Island Light
• Deer Isle, Maine: Eagle Island Light
• Georgetown, Maine: Perkins Island Light
• Isle Au Haut, Maine: Isle Au Haut (Robinson Point) Light
• Islesboro, Maine: Grindle Point Light
• Little Deer Isle, Maine: Pumpkin Island Light
• Matinicus Island, Maine: Matinicus Rock Light
• Monhegan Island, Maine: Monhegan Island Light
• Muscongus Bay, Maine: Franklin Island Light
• Owl’s Head, Maine: Owl’s Head Light
• Popham Beach, Maine: Pond Island Light
• Popham Beach, Maine: Seguin Island Light
• Port Clyde, Maine: Marshall Point Light
• Rockland, Maine: Rockland Breakwater Light
• Rockland Harbor, Maine: Southwest Light
• Rockport, Maine: Indian Island Light
• Spruce Head, Maine: Two Bush Island Light
• Southport, Maine: Cuckolds Light
• St. George, Maine: Whitehead (White Head) Light
• St. George, Maine: Tenants Harbor Light
• Stockton Springs, Maine: Fort Point Light
• Vinalhaven, Maine: Heron Neck Light
• Vinalhaven, Maine: Saddleback Ledge Light
• Vinalhaven, Maine: Brown’s Head Light
• West Southport, Maine: Hendricks Head Light
Portland & Casco Bay Region of Maine
• Cape Elizabeth, Maine: Cape Elizabeth Light
• Cape Elizabeth, Maine: Portland Head Light
• Casco Bay, Maine: Halfway Rock Light
• Casco Bay, Maine: Ram Island Ledge Light
• Millbridge, Maine: Narraguagus (Pond Island) Light
• North Haven, Maine: Goose Rocks Light
• South Portland, Maine: Portland Breakwater Light
• South Portland, Maine: Spring Point Ledge Light
Southern Coast Region of Maine
• Biddeford Pool, Maine: Wood Island Light
• Boon Island, Maine: Boon Island Light
• Kittery, Maine: Whaleback Light
• Kennebunkport, Maine: Goat Island Light
• York, Maine: Cape Neddick (”Nubble”) Light





