Mount Desert Light

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Mount Desert Light
The 1847 (current) tower with
the 1892 keeper's house.
Map
LocationSouth of Mount Desert Island, Maine
Coordinates43°58′07″N 68°07′42″W / 43.968614°N 68.128337°W / 43.968614; -68.128337
Tower
Constructed1830
FoundationSurface rock
ConstructionGranite blocks
Automated1977
Height17.5 m (57 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
ShapeConical Tower
MarkingsNatural granite, black lantern
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place Edit this on Wikidata
Fog signalHORN: 2 every 30s operates continuously
Light
First lit1847 (current tower)
Focal height75ft (23m)
Lens3rd order Fresnel Lens
Range20nm
CharacteristicFl W 15s

Mount Desert Light is a lighthouse on Mount Desert Rock, a small island about 18 nautical miles (33 km) south of Mount Desert Island. It was first established in 1830.

History[1][3]

  • 1847 Present structure built, designed by Alexander Parris
  • 1858 Bell tower, bell, new lantern, and 3rd order Fresnel lens installed
  • 1889 Fog bell replaced by a steam whistle
  • 1892 Current keeper's house built
  • 1931 Electrified with two generators
  • 1977 Automated
  • At about the same time the Fresnel lens was replaced by an aero-beacon and the lantern was removed.
  • 1985 Replica lantern installed
  • About ten years later, the aero-beacon was replaced with a VRB-25 lighthouse system.
  • 1998 Transferred to the College of the Atlantic as part of the Maine Lights program. It is used as an ecology research station, primarily known for work on finback and humpback whales.

The station is both farther offshore and more exposed than any other lighthouse on the east coast. It has sustained various, relatively minor, damage in Hurricane Daisy (1962) and Hurricane Bill (2009).

Mount Desert Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Mount Desert Light Station on March 14, 1988, reference number 88000155.[4]

Keepers[1]

  • Esais Preble (1833–1835) 
  • William Preble (assistant, 1833–1835)
  • Benjamin Ward Jr. (1841-?)
  • Jacob L. Richardson (1848–1850)
  • David King (1850–1853)
  • Rufus King (1853–1859) 
  • William H. Ward (assistant, 1855–1858) 
  • John Dolliver Jr. (assistant, 1858–1859)
  • George Booth (1859–1860) 
  • B. Thurber (assistant, 1859–1864)
  • Joseph Hopkins (1860–1861)
  • William E. Holden (1861–1864)
  • Seth H. Higgins (assistant 1864-1865, principal keeper 1865-1867) 
  • David Rollins (assistant, 1865–1867) 
  • Dan Ladd (assistant, 1865)
  • J. A. Williken (1867–1868) 
  • William Gilley (assistant, 1867)
  • Dan B. Eaton (assistant, 1867–1871)
  • Otis W. Kent (1868–1872) 
  • Perry W. Richardson (assistant, 1868–1870 and 1871–1872) 
  • Amos B. Newman (assistant, 1870–1872, principal keeper 1872-1881) 
  • Mark W. Hodgson (assistant, 1872–1882) 
  • William P. Sawyer (second assistant 1872-1878)
  • James A. Morris (assistant, 1874–1876)
  • Frank Collins (assistant, 1876–1877)
  • Howard P. Robbins (second assistant 1878-1882)
  • James A. Morris (1881–1882)
  • Thomas R. Milan (1882–1902) 
  • William Stanley (assistant 1882-1883)
  • Benjamin Maddox (assistant, 1883–1888)
  • Howard M. Gilley (second assistant 1883-1887)
  • Lewis F. Sawyer (second assistant 1887-1888, first assistant 1888-1889)
  • Willis Dolliver (second assistant 1887-1890, first assistant 1890-1891)
  • William J, Newman (second assistant 1890, first assistant 1890)
  • Thomas R. Savage (second assistant 1891-1892)
  • Orrin L. Milan (second assistant 1892-1895, first assistant 1895-1897)
  • Charles Thurston (second assistant 1895-1897, first assistant (1897–1899)
  • Fred M. Robbins (second assistant 1898-1899, first assistant 1899-1902, principal keeper (1902–1911) 
  • Joseph M. Gray (assistant, c. 1900)
  • Bert Richard (assistant, c. 1901)
  • Herbert P. Richardson (second assistant c. 1902)
  • Charles H. Newman (assistant, c. 1902-1908)
  • William H. C. Dodge (second assistant c. 1902-1908)
  • Vinal O. Beal (second assistant 1909-1910, first assistant 1910-1911, principal keeper 1911-1918) 
  • W. P. Kent (assistant, 1909–1910)
  • Wilbert F. Lurney (second assistant 1910, first assistant 1911-unknown)
  • Charles A. Radley (second assistant 1911-unknown);
  • Arthur Edward Ginn (c. 1918-early 1920s)
  • George York (1928–1936)
  • Robert G. Wass (c. 1930s) 
  • Everett Quinn (assistant c. 1935)
  • H. C. Day (assistant c. 1935).
  • Ralph Demons (c. 1950)

References

  1. ^ a b c "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. 2009. p. 1.
  3. ^ a b Rowlett, Russ (2009-09-30). "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13.


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