Lighting a River: Maine's Kennebec River

In their 1892 Report to congress, the Lighthouse Board noted that: "There were 3,137 arrivals of vessels in this river during the year, not counting the steamers which ply daily. The steamers Kennebec, 1,652 tons, and Sagadahoc, 1,413 tons, made ninety-six round-trips each from Gardiner to Boston. Other passenger steamers ply on the river between Bath to Augusta, Boothbay and Popham Beach ... the number of passengers carried was 232,150 ... The vessels arriving will average 450 tons. Some 24 feet draft can be carried to Thwings Point, 6 miles above Bath, 16 feet draft from Thwings Point to Gardiner, and 8 feet to Augusta. The Kennebec River is kept open by the towboats during the winter from Bath to the sea. Above Bath the buoys are taken up about November 20, and the river is likely to freeze at any time after this date. The ice usually goes out in April. The river not only has sea fogs, which extend to Bath, but its own river fog or mist which is dense and at times low down. On dark nights it is sometimes impossible to tell where the water ends and the shore begins. The Light-House Establishment owns no lights or fog signals in the Kennebec, but the Kennebec Steamboat company and tow boat companies have united for many years in maintaining lanterns hung on the buoys at turning points or other difficult places. The above facts establish, in the Board's opinion the necessity for and advisability of increasing the aids to navigation in the Kennebec River, and it recommends the establishment of the following named lights.