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Ram Island Ledge Light Portland Head Light Two Lights Halfway Rock Seguin Spring Point Ledge Light and Bug Light

Ram Island Ledge Light This 72 foot granite tower was built in 1905 on a narrow ledge of rocks that threatened the entrance to Portland Harbor. It is nearly a twin of the Graves Light in Boston Harbor, which was built around the same time. A total of 699 4-ton granite blocks were cut from the quarry in Vinalhaven and carefully shaped and numbered before being shipped to Ram Island. Construction was hampered because the ledge is only above water for a few hours each day. This is the lighthouse you see right out the front windows. This is my favorite. To its right is Portland Head. top		Ram Island Ledge Light

Portland Head Light First lighted in January 1791, this 80 foot tall, conical rubblestone tower was the first lighthouse built in Maine. It was the thirteenth lighthouse built on the Atlantic Coast. It is situated at the south entrance to Portland Harbor, adjacent to Fort Williams State Park. Considered by many to be one of the most beautiful and picturesque lighthouses in Maine, it is one of the most photographed lights in the United States. The light has undergone numerous changes over the years, with the lamp/lens being changed eight times and the height of the tower modified three times. The original tower still stands, and it continues its work as an active aid to navigation. It has housed both a second order and a fourth order Fresnel lens. The town of Cape Elizabeth currently owns the station and the Museum at Portland Head Light has been located in the former keeper's house since 1992. A frequent visitor to Portland Head in his younger years was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was born in Portland. Longfellow's poem "The Lighthouse" was inspired by his many hours spent at Portland Head Light. This is the big, bright one that flashes through the living room. You can't miss it! top		Portland Head Light "The rocky ledge runs far out into the sea And on its outer point some miles away, The lighthouse lifts its massive masonry, A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Lighthouse.

Two Lights As early as 1828 two stone towers were in operation, roughly 300 yards apart. In 1874 the two stone towers were replaced with 65 foot cast iron towers, painted brown and fitted with second-order Fresnel lenses. In 1924 the government decided to convert all twin-light stations two single towers, so Two Lights western tower was decommissioned. Today Cape Elizabeth's tower shines the most powerful light in Maine-a 4 million candlepower flashing white light visible for 27 miles. Located in Two Lights State Park, the keeper's house is now a private residence in an excusive neighborhood. Ram Island Light is directly between my house and Two Lights, so you can see the two lighthouses sticking up beyond Ram Island. Only one flashes. top		Two Lights

Halfway Rock Halfway Rock is a windswept rocky ledge in Casco Bay, about 10 miles east of Portland Head. Its name comes from the fact that it is halfway between Cape Elizabeth and Cape Small in Phippsburg. The possibility of erecting a lighthouse in the vicinity was discussed as early as the 1830s but it wasn't until 1869 that $50,000 was appropriated for the building of a stone tower. One of the last keepers was Stephen Krikorian, a Maine native. Krikorian told the Portland Press Herald about some of the unusual ways the keepers passed the lonely hours. He picked up a basketball that had washed ashore. "There are 2,448 pimples on this. I counted 'em. It took a day." The men kept a chart in the house with the heading "House Fly Killings." Coast Guardsman Ronald Handfield held the record of 257 fly killings in two months. In 1975 the keepers were removed for good and the light was automated with a modern DCB 224 optic. The original Fresnel lens went to the museum at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. This is located to the North. top		Halfway Rock

Seguin Six miles out to sea, marking the mouth of the Kennebeck River, Seguin was Maine's first island lighthouse. The first tower was built in 1797, a second tower in 1820, and the present granite tower in 1857. Because of its perch atop the island, the 53-foot tower is actually 180 feet above sea level. The original first-order Fresnel lens still shines 25 miles, one of only two first-order lights in New England (the other being Graves Light in Boston Harbor). Seguin has the distinction of being one of the most foggy locales in the US, with over 2700 hours of fog in one year. That's nearly one-third of the year in fog! Tours of the light are conducted several times a year from the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. Because of its foggy location, I can hardly ever see this one. top		Seguin

Spring Point Ledge Light and Bug Light On your boat ride out to the island, you will pass two lights in the Portland Harbor, Spring Point and Bug Light. Spring Point Ledge Light, built in 1897, the brick tower on iron caisson "spark plug" light had a fifth-order lens. It originally stood 300 yards offshore, but now is at the end of a breakwater built in 1950. Spring Point Ledge is still an active light, although its industrial surroundings make it seem misplaced. The light stands adjacent to the old Fort Preble and features a small gift shop. From Spring Point Ledge, a few hundred yards north, you can see Portland Breakwater Light, affectionately referred to as Bug Light due to its small stature. It is one of the highlights of the Spring Point Shoreway. The lighthouse was built in 1875 of cast iron with a brick lining on a granite block foundation. The light was discontinued in 1942 when all the lighthouse beacons were dimmed for security reasons during World War II, and was never relit until 2002, when the Coast Guard added a solar-powered light. top		Spring Point Ledge Light Bug Light



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updated 14 August 2007