Monhegan Island Light

Monhegan Island Light
Monhegan Island Light
Location Monhegan Island, Maine
Coordinates 43°45′53.282″N 69°18′56.981″W / 43.76480056°N 69.31582806°W / 43.76480056; -69.31582806Coordinates: 43°45′53.282″N 69°18′56.981″W / 43.76480056°N 69.31582806°W / 43.76480056; -69.31582806
Year first constructed 1824 (1824)
Year first lit 1850 (current structure)
Automated 1959
Foundation Surface rock
Construction Granite blocks
Tower shape Cylindrical Tower
Markings / pattern Lt. List says White, but photos show unpainted light gray-brown granite
Focal height 178 feet (54 m)
Current lens VRB-25
Range 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 15s
Fog signal 1854: Bell
1870: Manana Island Sound Signal Station
USCG number

1-20[1][2]

Monhegan Island Lighthouse and Quarters
Location Monhegan Island, Maine
Built 1824
Architect Alexander Parris
NRHP Reference # 80000239[3]
Added to NRHP May 07, 1980

Monhegan Island Light is a lighthouse on Monhegan Island, Maine. It was first established in 1824. The present structure was built in 1850.[4] It was Alexander Parris's last significant design. It is the second highest light in Maine — only Seguin Light, on a significantly higher island, is higher.[1] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Monhegan Island Lighthouse and Quarters on May 7, 1980, reference number 80000239.[3]

Description and history

Monhegan Island Light stands on the highest point of the island. The lighthouse complex includes the tower, keeper's house, storage building, and oil house. The tower is a circular structure built out granite blocks with sloping walls, and is 47 feet (14 m) tall, with the lantern house mounted on top. A brick entry house, with gabled roof, is attached to the south side of the tower. The storage building is a single-story wood frame structure, and the oil house is a small brick structure with a gabled roof. The keeper's house, now serving as the Monhegan Museum, is a 1-1/2 story wood frame building.[5]

The light station was authorized by Congress in 1822, and went into operation in 1824; the present tower dates to 1850. The light was automated in 1959, and is managed by remote control from the Manana Island Sound Signal Station.[5] (The latter station was administratively managed as part of the Monhegan Light Station from 1850 to 1874, and has been under separate administration since.)[6]

Monhegan Museum

The lighthouse building complex is now operated as the Monhegan Museum, with exhibits of the island's natural, social, industrial, cultural and artistic history. The lighthouse tower's light mechanism is still operated by the Coast Guard, but the Monhegan Museum owns the tower and opens it to the public on occasion each season.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-06.
  2. ↑ Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 1.
  3. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  4. ↑ "Monhegan Island Lighthouse, Maine". The Museum's History: Lighthouse. Monhegan Museum. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  5. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Monhegan Island Lighthouse and Quarters" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  6. ↑ "NRHP nomination for Manana Island Fog Signal Station" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
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