Whitlocks Mill Light

The Whitlocks Mill Light is a lighthouse on the south bank of the St. Croix River in Calais, Maine. It is the northernmost lighthouse in the state of Maine,[5] and was the last light to be built in the state.[6]

Whitlocks Mill Light
Undated photograph of Whitlocks Mill Light Light (USCG)
Locationsouth shore of St. Croix River east of Calais, Maine
Coordinates45°9′45.370″N 67°13′38.566″W
Year first constructed1892
Year first lit1909 (current tower)
Automated1969
FoundationDressed stone/timber
ConstructionBrick, ceramic tile lining
Tower shapeCylindrical
Markings / patternWhite w/black lantern
Tower height25 feet (7.6 m)
Focal height32 feet (9.8 m)
Original lens4th order Fresnel lens
Current lensVLB-44 (2009)
Range6 nautical mile 
CharacteristicIso G 6s
Fog signalnone
Admiralty numberH4138
ARLHS numberUSA-890
USCG number1-985[1][2][3]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Whitlocks Mill Light Station
Nearest cityCalais, Maine
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1910
ArchitectUS Army Corps of Engineers
MPSLight Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.87002276[4]
Added to NRHPJanuary 21, 1988

Description

The light station includes a tower, keeper's house, equipment shed, oil house, and bell house. The keeper's house, now privately owned, is an L-shaped two-story gambrel roof oriented to face the river. The tower is a circular brick structure, topped by an lantern house surrounded by an iron railing. The bell house is distinctive as one of the few surviving period pyramidal bell houses. The oil house is a small brick gable-roofed structure, typical of oil houses at other light stations.[7]

History

This light marks a bend in the river, and was established as a light station in 1892. The original light was a lantern hung in the tree by the local miller after whom the station was named. In 1910 the present complex was built, with a fourth-order Fresnel lens mounted in the lantern house.[7]

In 1969 the light was automated, and the Fresnel lens was replaced with a standard 9.8 inches (250 mm) optic. The old lens was later put on display at the Shore Village Museum in Rockland (now part of the Maine Lighthouse Museum).[8] In 2009, the 250mm optic was replaced with an LED VLB-44.[3] In 1970, the station was leased to the Washington County Vocational Technical Institute;[5] eventually the keeper's house and grounds passed into private hands, but the Coast Guard retained ownership of the light tower itself.

In 1999 the tower was deeded to the St. Croix Historical Society as part of the Maine Lighthouse Program, a precursor to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. The light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Whitlocks Mill Light Station on January 21, 1988, reference number 87002276.

  • 1916 postcard

See also

References
  1. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 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. 2015. p. 9.
  3. Rowlett, Russ (2009-12-07). "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. "Whitlocks Mill Light". New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  6. "Whitlock's Mill Lighthouse". St. Croix Historical Society. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  7. "NRHP nomination for Whitlocks Mill Light". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  8. "Shore Village Museum". Retrieved 2008-02-05.
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