Maine

Mount Desert Rock lies in the Atlantic Ocean, off Maine, some 22 miles from Mount Desert Island (both are pronounced "dessert"), and 26 miles from the mainland. The rock is a scant half-acre with the highest elevation being only 17 feet above high water. The station is assigned Light List number 1by the Coast Guard, the first light of our aids, which are numbered from north to south and east to west. It is also one of the most desolate stations ever conceived by our government.

From pre-Colonial times through the mid to late 1800's, the development of business and industry of the mid-coast and Penobscot Bay region of Maine was highly dependant on sailing vessels to transport to market the raw materials and finished products of coastal and inland areas. Fish, lumber, ice, lime and granite were the significant products derived from the abundant natural resources of the coast and inland along the extensive Penobscot River system.

In the spring of 1853, Samuel Burgess was appointed keeper of Matinicus Rock Light Station. His family included an invalid wife, a son and four daughters. Within a few years the son left to become a fisherman and, in fact, Samuel also spent a great deal of time away from the light station fishing in Bay Chaleur. His only assistant was the eldest daughter, Abbie. She became quite proficient in the duties of lighthouse keeper. On January 19, 1856, when she was 17 years old and while her father was off the island, a winter gale lashed the islet.

The year is 1826, the new country is just fifty years old. The nation's coastline bustles with commerce. The young government, responding to the needs of industry, attempts to make the shipping lanes as safe as possible and acquires title to a lonely rock in the Atlantic off Maine's coast. Matinicus Rock is a barren outcropping off the coast of Maine. It is the southernmost feature of the Matinicus archipelago of five islands (four are partially wooded) and numerous high barren rocks.

My heart beat faster as we approached the island. It had been 26 years since I last saw Petit Manan. Visitors are always warmly greeted on this lonely outpost, and we were no exception. A young Coast Guardman met us at the slip and made us welcome. We identified ourselves and asked permission to tour the island. There is something about a lighthouse which stirs the imagination and delights the soul. Perhaps it's the lighted beacon, a symbol of safety to vessels plying unpredictable winter waters. Maybe it's the solitude of a lighthouse, with its promise of tranquility.

Marshall Point Light Station is located in Port Clyde at the tip of the St. George Peninsula. Situated on a rocky ledge at the mouth of the St. George river, it has a commanding view of Muscongus and Penobscot Bays and their nearby spruce covered islands. The earliest light tower and keeper's house were built at Marshall Point in 1832. Both structures were made of rubble stone and were probably connected. In 1858 the tower was rebuilt at the tide line, away from the house, but connected by a covered bridge. A Fresnel lens replaced the previous seven lamps.

The March 2, 1827 appropriation of $1,500 was woefully inadequate. How could a lighthouse be constructed on Whale's Back Ledge, Portsmouth, NH, asked Fifth Auditor and Superintendent of Lighthouses Stephen Pleasonton, when others in the area of "the lowest grade," had cost no less than $5,000? Further he noted, "to the southward of New Jersey, from five to eight thousand may be estimated as the cost."

Ken Black likes to say, "There are believers and nonbelievers." By 'believer' Ken is talking about those among us who have a love of lighthouses, light ships, aids to navigation artifacts and the associated lore. Believers are people who believe that those elements of our maritime heritage are worth saving for future generations to know and enjoy. Nonbelievers are, well, let's just say, lacking vision.

One might think a lighthouse an unlikely location for a family farm. But small farms were to be found at most lighthouses built in America until the 1930's. Blue Hill Bay Light Station was one such place. This lighthouse in Maine is located, on Green Island on the west side of the bay for which it is presently named, near where an old inside passage shipping route entered Blue Hill Bay. At one time it was known as the Eggemogin Lighthouse, for it is at the eastern entrance to Eggemogin Reach, the coastal waterway that connects Penobscot Bay with Blue Hill Bay.