Owls Head Light

Owls Head Light Station

Location	Owls Head, Maine
Year first constructed	1826
Year first lit	1826
Automated	1989
Foundation	Granite
Construction	Brick
Tower shape	Cylindrical
Markings / pattern	white with black lantern
Focal height	100ft (30m)
Current lens	4th order Fresnel lens[1]
Range	16 nm
Characteristic	Fixed white
Fog signal	HORN: 2 every 20s
USCG number	1-4105 [2] [3] [4]
Owls Head Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city:	Owls Head, Maine
Coordinates:	44°5′32.058″N 69°2′38.490″W / 44.09223833°N 69.044025°W / 44.09223833; -69.044025Coordinates: 44°5′32.058″N 69°2′38.490″W / 44.09223833°N 69.044025°W / 44.09223833; -69.044025
Built:	1826
Architect:	Green & Foster and Jeremiah Barry
Governing body:	U.S. Coast Guard
NRHP Reference#:	78000183[5]
Added to NRHP:	January 18, 1978

1998 photo

Owls Head Light is a lighthouse located in Owls Head, Maine at the entrance of Rockland Harbor on Western Penobscot Bay. The lighthouse was established in 1826. It is operated by the United States Coast Guard and it is also part of Owls Head Light State Park.

History

The lighthouse was designed by Green & Foster and Jeremiah Barry and constructed in 1826. It is a 30-foot (9.1 m) tall cylindrical brick tower on a granite foundation standing on top a cliff. It has one of the last six Fresnel lenses in operation in Maine.^[1]

In 1854, a keeper's house was built separate from the lighthouse. The cottage now serves as Coast Guard housing. A fourth order Fresnel lens, in use until recently, was installed in 1856. A generator house and an oil storage building were added in 1895.

The light station was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Owls Head Light Station in 1978.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Classical Lenses in Operation". US Coast Guard. 2009-08-06. http://www.uscg.mil/history/docs/CG_Classical_Lens_in_Operation.pdf. 
2. ^ (PDF) Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 36. http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lightLists/LightList%20V1.pdf. 
3. ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-08. http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHME.asp. 
4. ^ Rowlett, Russ (2009-10-09). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/me2.htm. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.