Whitehead Island
Light
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Whitehead Quick Facts
Year Station Established: 1807
Is the Light operational? Yes
Year Light First Lit: 1852
Year Automated: 1982
Shape: Conical
Tower Height: 41 ft.
Original Optic: 3rd Order, Fresnel
Present Optic: 300mm
Existing Keepers Quarters? Yes
Year Constructed: 1888
Number of Stories: 1.5
Architectural Style: Duplex
Construction Materials: Wood
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Whitehead Island Light
Near Spruce Head, Maine
Click here for more Photos
(10 photos, 317KB total download)
History/Info:
Whitehead Light was first established on Whitehead Island in the Penobscot
Bay by order of President Thomas Jefferson in 1807. It marks the western
entrance to Muscle Ridge Channel, while Owls Head Light marks the
eastern entrance.
In 1852 a new 41-foot lighthouse was built along with a new wooden
keeper's house. A third order Fresnel lens was installed in 1857.
Whitehead Island and the surrounding islands were home to over 30
children around this time. A one-room schoolhouse was built on Whitehead
and a teacher boarded with the keeper's family.
In 1933 the old steam boilers that ran the fog signal were replaced by
two internal combustion engines operating an air compressor. Two new fog
horns were installed, one pointing out to sea to the south and another
facing northeast toward the Muscle Ridge Channel. At the same time an
electric light replaced the old incandescent oil vapor lamp inside the
lens, and the keeper's dwellings were supplied with electricity.
Under the Coast Guard Whitehead Light became a "stag" light instead of a
three-family station. The 1899 Dutch Colonial head keeper's house was
razed, but the assistant keeper's duplex house near the tower still
stands.
In the early 1980s the lighthouse was automated, the keepers were
removed and the Fresnel lens was replaced by a modern optic.
Whitehead Light was one of the lighthouses included in the Maine Lights
Program authorized by Congress and coordinated by the Island Institute
of Rockland. In December 1997 the Maine Lighthouse Selection Committee
announced that Whitehead Light would be transferred from the Coast Guard
to Pine Island Camp, a historic boys'camp situated on Pine Island in
Great Pond of the Belgrade Lakes.
Whitehead Light remains an active aid to navigation. It is difficult to
see from shore, but some of the tour boats and schooners in the area
pass the island. Incidentally, the name of the island was traditionally
spelled "White Head" before the Coast Guard combined the words to
"Whitehead."
Source:
New England Lighthouses
Latitude/Longitude: 43°59'N 69°07'W
Directions:
This lighthouse can only be seen from boat or air. Check out our
Lighthouse Tours page for information of boat
tours in in Maine.
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