Eagle Island Light

Coordinates: 44°13′3.53″N 68°46′3.98″W / 44.2176472°N 68.7677722°W / 44.2176472; -68.7677722
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eagle Island Light
Map
LocationEagle Island, Maine
Coordinates44°13′3.53″N 68°46′3.98″W / 44.2176472°N 68.7677722°W / 44.2176472; -68.7677722
Tower
Constructed1838
FoundationNatural / emplaced
ConstructionGranite rubblestone
Automated1963
Height30 feet (9.1 m)
ShapeConical Tower
MarkingsWhite with black lantern
Fog signalnone
Light
First lit1858
Focal height106 feet (32 m)
Lens4th order Fresnel lens
Range9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 4s

Eagle Island Light is a lighthouse on Eagle Island in Penobscot Bay, in south central Maine.[1][2][3] The tower was first lit in 1838 but had to be torn down because of major physical defects. It was rebuilt in 1858 and operated by several families over the next century. In 1959 the light was automated, and five years later, over vehement local protests, the keeper's house was torn down and the bell was removed. The crew that removed the bell lost control of it, and it fell into the Bay. A Lobsterman salvaged it some years later and it is on exhibit on Great Spruce Head Island.

Today Eagle Light is owned by a nonprofit which provides public access and has restored both the light itself and the square pyramidal bell tower. Along with several other lights in Maine, the growth of trees around the light has made its future problematic.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-06. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  2. ^ Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2012. p. 32.
  3. ^ a b Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.