Matinicus Rock Light

Matinicus Rock Light is a lighthouse on Matinicus Rock, a windswept rock 25 miles (40 km) off the coast of Maine. It is one of eleven seacoast lights off the coast of Maine.[1] First established in 1827, the present surviving structures date to 1857. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Matinicus Rock Light Station on March 14, 1988.[4]

Matinicus Rock Light
Matinicus Lighthouse, drawn in March 1848
Location6 miles south of Matinicus Island, Town of Criehaven, Maine
Coordinates43°47′.502″N 68°51′18.119″W
Year first constructed1827
Year first lit1846 (current tower)
Automated1983
FoundationNatural emplaced
ConstructionGranite blocks
Tower shapeCylindrical twin towers
Markings / patternNatural
Tower height14.5 metre 
Focal height90 feet (27 m)
Original lensThird order Fresnel lens
Current lensVRB-25
Range20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi)
CharacteristicFlashing white 10s
Fog signalHORN: 1 every 15s, operates continuously.
Admiralty numberJ0116
ARLHS numberUSA-484
USCG number1-10[1][2][3]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Matinicus Rock Light Station
Nearest cityMatinicus Isle, Maine
Built1847 (1847)
ArchitectUS Army Corps of Engineers
Alexander Parris
MPSLight Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.88000149[4]
Added to NRHPMarch 14, 1988

Description

Matinicus Rock is a windswept and treeless rock, projecting out of the Gulf of Maine several miles south of the main islands of Matinicus Isle, Maine, an island community that is a 20-mile (32 km) ferry ride from Rockland. The light station occupies the center of the rock, and includes two towers, a keeper's house, shed, and boathouse. The dock is located on the northwest side of the rock. The two towers are 41 feet (12 m) in height, built out of ashlar granite stone. Only the southern one is active, and has a twelve-sided lantern house, while the other has lost its lantern house. Connected to the active tower is the keeper's house, a single-story frame structure whose end walls are semicircular granite structures, remnants of the older lighthouses.[5]

History

In 1827 the United States Lighthouse Service erected a pair of wooden light towers and a cobblestone keeper's residence on Matinicus Rock. The lights guided sea traffic until 1848 when they were replaced by the granite structure (see picture). In 1857 the government rebuilt the towers and placed them 180 feet (55 m) apart to make them more effective; the north light was deactivated in 1924.[1] Alexander Parris, the architect who designed the 1848 lighthouses, also designed many stone buildings in New England including the 1825 Quincy Market in Boston, Massachusetts.

US Coast Guard photo c. 1980

Matinicus Light is famous for the story of Abbie Burgess, who as a young girl maintained the light for several weeks while her father, the lighthouse keeper, was on the mainland. Winter storms prevented his timely return. Her mother was also very sick.

Matinicus Rock is now fully automated. A diesel generator used for power was replaced by solar panels in 2007. Matinicus Rock is known as being the southernmost nesting site for the Atlantic puffin and as of 2009, the common murre. The Audubon Society often has observers on island during nesting season.

See also

References
  1. 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.
  2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-08. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  3. Rowlett, Russ (2009-10-09). "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. "NRHP nomination for Matinicus Rock Light". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
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