The 23rd annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend occurred on August 22 & 23, 2020. According to the Wireless Society of Southern Maine (WS1SM), a part of the American Radio Relay …
Matinicus Rock Light Poem
The following poem about Matinicus Rock Light was written by Hilda Thompson of Damariscotta, Maine, and appeared in the January 23, 1939 edition of the Rockland Courier Gazette… Twenty miles from …
Visitors at Lighthouses
Visiting lighthouses eighty-plus years ago was not nearly as prevalent as it is today. It was not that the public did not have a fascination with lighthouses and their keepers – for they certainly …
Aberrations of Audibility of Fog-Signals
The following information about oddities related to fog signals was published in the government publication, The Modern Light-House Service, 1890, by Arnold Burges Johnson, Chief Clerk, United States …
Keeper at West Quoddy Head Deploys the Tried-and-True
The following news story appeared in the Boston Globe on April 22, 1932. The account appeared under the newspaper’s column, entitled, “Odd Items from Everywhere.” At the time, Eugene N. Larrabee …
Lighthouse Disabled
The following news story, entitled "Lighthouse Disabled," appeared in the Daily Kennebec Journal on February 7, 1903. At the time, Samuel John Cavanor was keeper of Ram Island Lighthouse. Keeper …
Heron Neck Lightkeeper Disoriented in Fog
Fog has long been the bane of the mariner. The misty vapor can blot out all visibility, and in doing so, conceal navigational hazards lurking nearby in the vicinity. Many a shipwreck has occurred …
A Dark Lighthouse
The following account appeared in the Rockland Courier-Gazette on March 3, 1923. Hiram Grant served as keeper of the Fort Point Light Station in Stockton Springs from 1866 to 1882. Keeper Grant was …
Photoflash Bomb Damaged Keeper’s House at Mount Desert Rock Light
The account below is one of the most unusual and terrifying events – at least initially, in Maine lighthouse history. One can only imagine how utterly frightened the keepers were when, without …
Whitehead Lightkeeper Praised in 1849
The following letter appeared in the Lime Rock Gazette, East Thomaston, Maine, on April 5, 1849. The lightkeeper lauded was William Perry, Jr. who served at Whitehead Lighthouse from 1840 to 1841, and …