Goat Island Light

Goat Island Light
	Goat Island Light from Cape Porpoise
Location	Goat Island, Cape Porpoise harbor
Coordinates	43°21′28″N 70°25′30″W / 43.35778°N 70.42500°W
Tower
Constructed	1835
Foundation	Natural, emplaced
Construction	Brick
Automated	1990
Height	7.5 m (25 ft)
Shape	Cylindrical
Markings	White with black lantern
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Fog signal	HORN: 1 every 15s
Light
First lit	1859 (current tower)
Focal height	38 feet (12 m)
Lens	5th order Fresnel lens (original), 12 inches (300 mm) (current)
Range	12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi)
Characteristic	Flashing white 6s.
	Goat Island Light Station
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district
Nearest city	Cape Porpoise, Maine
Built	1859
Architect	US Army Corps of Engineers
MPS	Light Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.	87002268
Added to NRHP	March 23, 1988

Goat Island Light is a lighthouse located off Cape Porpoise near Kennebunkport in southern Maine.^[2]^[3]^[4] Goat Island Light was established in 1835 to guard the entrance to Cape Porpoise Harbor. The original station was upgraded in 1859 to the current brick tower with a fifth order Fresnel lens. Keeper's quarters were added to the island in 1860. The light station was automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1990 and is currently active. The keepers dwellings and tower are leased to the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust.^[4] Goat Island Light can be seen from shore in Cape Porpoise Harbor just off State Route 9 north of Kennebunkport or is viewable by boat. The island is currently closed to the public except by special arrangement.

Description and history[edit]

The coast of southern Maine east of the Kennebunk River is studded with a group of small islands and rock ledges near the headland called Cape Porpoise. Goat Island is a treeless outer island, about 7.7 acres (3.1 ha) in size. The lighthouse is set on the island's southern shore, with the keeper's house a short way to its north. A boathouse and dock stand and the western end of the island, with a small brick oil house between it and the tower.^[5]

The present tower is a circular brick structure, with the lantern 25 feet (7.6 m) above ground level. The lantern house presently houses a fifth order Fresnel lens. A metal walkway and railing surround the lantern house, and there is a single window in the tower. A small workroom with two doors projects from the tower. The keeper's house is an L-shaped wood-frame structure, 1+1⁄2 stories in height, with clapboard siding replacing its original board-and-batten siding. The roof is pierced by dormers, also a later alteration. It was originally joined to the tower by a covered walkway. The boathouse is a simple rectangular single-story structure with a gable roof and clapboard siding. The oil house is a small brick structure with a gable roof that has a vent at one end.^[5]

Goat Island Light was authorized in 1833 as an aid to navigation for reaching the harbor at Cape Porpoise. The first tower built was 20 feet (6.1 m) in height; the present tower and keeper's house were built in 1859. The boathouse was built in 1905.^[5]

Original 1835 tower, USCG photo
1859 tower, USCG photo

References[edit]

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ United States Coast Guard (2009). Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. p. 67.
^ Rowlett, Russ (October 9, 2009). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
^ ^a ^b "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. August 8, 2009. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c "NRHP nomination for Goat Island Light Station". National Park Service. Retrieved June 20, 2015.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[cgll-2] United States Coast Guard (2009). Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. p. 67.

[rowlett-3] Rowlett, Russ (October 9, 2009). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[cghist-4] "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. August 8, 2009. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.

[NRHP-5] "NRHP nomination for Goat Island Light Station". National Park Service. Retrieved June 20, 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Lighthouses of Maine
Main: List of lighthouses in the United States
Avery Rock Light Baker Island Light Bass Harbor Head Light Bear Island Light Blue Hill Bay Light Boon Island Light Browns Head Light Burnt Coat Harbor Light Burnt Island Light Cape Elizabeth Lights Cape Neddick Light Crabtree Ledge Light The Cuckolds Light Curtis Island Light Deer Isle Thorofare Light Dice Head Light Doubling Point Light Doubling Point Range Lights Eagle Island Light Egg Rock Light Fiddler's Reach Fog Signal Fort Point Light Franklin Island Light Goat Island Light Goose Rocks Light Great Duck Island Light Grindel Point Light Halfway Rock Light Hendricks Head Light Heron Neck Light Indian Island Light Isle au Haut Light Ladies Delight Light Libby Island Light Little River Light Lubec Channel Light Machias Seal Island* Marshall Point Light Matinicus Rock Light Monhegan Island Light Moose Peak Light Mount Desert Light Narraguagus Light Nash Island Light Owls Head Light Pemaquid Point Light Perkins Island Light Petit Manan Light Pond Island Light Portland Breakwater Light Portland Head Light Prospect Harbor Point Light Pumpkin Island Light Ram Island Light Ram Island Ledge Light Rockland Harbor Breakwater Light Saddleback Ledge Light Saint Croix River Light Seguin Light Spring Point Ledge Light Squirrel Point Light Tenants Harbor Light Two Bush Island Light West Quoddy Head Light Whaleback Light Whitehead Light Whitlocks Mill Light Winter Harbor Light Wood Island Light
* Disputed territory claimed by Maine but de facto controlled by Canada

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

Description and history[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]