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Video Introduction to Maine Regions & Towns & Communities
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Video Tour of Maine Lighthouses
The rugged, deeply indented coast of Maine has more than 60 lighthouses.
Lighthouse preservation is very strong in Maine, as evidenced by the large number of local preservation societies and trusts. The Maine Lights program, passed by
Congress in 1996, led to the transfer of 28 lighthouses from the Coast Guard to local preservation groups or other agencies and served as a model for the National
Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. Except for eight privately-owned towers, all but a handful of Maine's lighthouses now have local support groups.
In addition, two powerful national forces for lighthouse preservation, the American Lighthouse Foundation and Lighthouse Digest magazine, are based in Maine.
At least 54 of the lighthouses are still active.
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Video Tour of Nubble Lighthouse in York Maine
Cape Neddick Lighthouse, also known as the Nubble Lighthouse, is located in York Beach, ME. The requests for a light station on the "Nubble" began in 1807. Approval
for the light station was made by Congress in 1874, after numerous boating accidents.
1879 Cape Neddick light was built and started operating in July of 1879. The tower stands 41 feet tall (39' to the center of the lantern) and is 88 feet above the
ocean. The red beacon of the Nubble flashes at 6 second intervals and can be seen from 13 nautical miles away. The tower is made of cast iron which is lined with
brick. Surrounding the tower is a railing that is supported by 12 posts, each being topped with a small cast iron lighthouse. There are conflicting stories over the
original color of the tower, some say red some say brown. It was repainted its current color of white in 1902.
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Lighthouse on Pond Island near Popham Beach in Maine
Pond Island, which is a two-acre island contains a lighthouse built in 1855 (which replaced the older one built in 1821.) This lighthouse is not open to the public,
but boat cruises are available that pass beside the island for a close-up look. Other recreational possibilities at Popham Beach include kayaking, jet skiing, boating
and fishing, swimming, kite flying, shelling, biking, hiking and golf. Antique shopping is available in nearby Bath and Wiscasset, and the historic town of Georgetown
is just minutes away.
Parts of Popham Beach were used filming the movie, "Message In A Bottle," starring Kevin Costner.
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Pond Island Lighthouse Vol. 2
Pond Island Lighthouse is a twenty-foot-tall, brick tower.
Pond Island Lighthouse was built in 1855, at which time it was also outfitted with a fifth-order
Fresnel lens. The cylindrical tower was attached to a one-and-a-half-story, wooden keeper�s dwelling by a work shed, and was similar in design to the Brown�s Head
Lighthouse, which retains its dwelling today.
On September 8, 1869, a hurricane swept along the coast of Maine uprooting trees and causing a great deal of damage to various structures. A newspaper in Portland
called it the severest storm to strike that city, and in Bath damages were estimated to be between $25,000 and $50,000 (in 1869 dollars). On Pond Island, the hurricane
blew down the pyramidal fog-bell tower, damaging the striking machinery. Not surprisingly, the bell escaped uninjured. In 1890, a new 1,200-pound bronze bell was hung
in place of the old steel bell that was badly corroded.
Besides the lighthouse, dwelling, and fog-bell tower, Pond Island was also equipped with a boathouse located on the shoreward side of the island. In 1885, a frame
fuel-house was built on the island and a new wooden cistern with a capacity of about 1,000 gallons along with fourteen feet of rain pipes were supplied for the
keeper�s dwelling. An oil house was added in 1905.
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Portland Head Light Station in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
It has been called the "Most photographed lighthouse in North America."
Portland Head Light stands 80 feet above ground and 101 feet above water, its white conical tower being connected with a dwelling. The 200,000 candlepower, DCB 224
airport style aerobeacon is visible from 16 miles away. The grounds and keeper's house are owned by the town of Cape Elizabeth, while the tower and fog signal are
owned and maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard as a current aid to navigation.
The lighthouse is visited by nearly one million people per year.
Real Estate Listings by Maine Town — View listings by selected Maine town.
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Hurricane Waves at Portland Head Light
Waves from a Hurricane crash on shore at Portland Head Light.
Filmed the Head Light house during a hurricane the waves were huge and it was amazing loud. The storm was so strong that the Professional Tripod almost blew away.
Built on the cheap with light rubblestone and lime, Portland Head was a 72 foot tower that first shone its light in January of 1791. Over the years Portland Head has
undergone many changes. The tower was lowered by 25 feet in 1813; in 1850 a new lantern was installed with a fourth-order fresnel lens; in 1864 twenty feet were added
back onto the tower�'s height and the lens upgraded to a second-order. In 1882 the twenty feet were once again removed from the tower and the lens returned to
fourth-order power. This last change was very unpopular, and within a year the tower was raised yet again by twenty feet and the more powerful lens restored.
Portland Head changed little until 1989, when the old fresnel was removed and replaced with an airport-style revolving beacon. The tower today bears the scars of it's
many changes in height.
Today the isolated spot where Longfellow penned his famous lighthouse poem is one of Maine�s most popular tourist attractions. Lines of tour buses glide through Fort
Williams Park to the large parking lot near the lighthouse. After extensive renovation, the keeper�s quarters opened as a museum in 1992, and there is a gift shop on
the grounds as well.
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Seguin Island Lighthouse at the mouth of the Kennebec River
Seguin Island is located two miles off the mouth of the Kennebec River, south of Georgetown Island in Sagadahoc County.
Seguin Island maybe be seen from a number of locations along the coast. At the end of Southport Island, Seguin may be seen at the Town Landing at Newagen at a
distance of 6 nautical miles. From Ried State Park in Georgetown, Seguin is 4 nautical miles. The best view of Seguin from the mainland is at Popham Beach State
Park. Seguin is at a distance of 2 nautical miles. This is not only the closest place to view the island but, looking at it from this angle, the island is its longest.
If you drive a mile past Popham Beach State Park, at the end of the road is Fort Popham, a Civil War fort built to guard the mouth of the river. Seguin is 3 nautical
miles in the distance. To the north - upriver- Perkins Island Light can be seen.
Maps of Popular Coastal Maine Towns
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Lighthouses of the Coast of Maine - Narrated by Jack Perkins
Vol. 1
Lighthouses of the Coast of Maine
Vol. 2
Lighthouses of the Coast of Maine
Vol. 3
Lighthouses of the Coast of Maine
Vol. 4
Lighthouses of the Coast of Maine
Vol. 5
Lighthouses of the Coast of Maine
Vol. 6
Lighthouses were once the saviors of the seacoast. Their bright beacons and resonating foghorns cut through foul weather, warning ships of impending danger and guiding
them safely back to shore. In this age of radar and GPS, lighthouses no longer have the life and death significance they once did, yet these distinctive structures
still carry the romance and drama of their pasts. More than 60 lighthouses dot the Maine coast from the well known Nubble Light in York to West Quoddy Head, the
easternmost lighthouse in the United States.
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