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The Cuckolds Lighthouse Fun Facts
Location: Cape Newagen / Boothbay Approach
Closest City: Newagen, Maine
Latitude: 43.7798 Longitude: -69.65
Body of Water: Atlantic Ocean
Open to Public: Site: Yes
Tower: No
Station Established: 1892
Present Tower Activated: 1907
Status of Light: Operational
Tower Height: 48 ft.
Optic: VRB-25, 1998
Fourth Order Fresnel, 1907
National Register Reference #: Not Listed
Listing Name: N/A
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The Cuckolds are a pair of barren ledges outside Boothbay Harbor south of Newagen. They were so named by an English colonist in remembrance of a similar point of land on the Thames River. The Cuckolds lighthouse station started as a simple wooden daymark to assist mariners on their way in and out of Boothbay Harbor. As with every daymark ever erected, the usefulness of the structure was nullified at night and in foggy weather. In 1892, The Cuckolds received a first order Daboll trumpet that operated using compressed air as well as a 1.5 story, attached keeper's residence.
Fifteen years later in 1907, The Cuckolds lighthouse tower was built atop the circular, brick fog signal building. The octagonal, wooden tower, standing 48 feet overall, was equipped with an American-made fourth order Fresnel lens. As with a number of light stations along the Maine coast, The Cuckolds have seen their share of vicious storms. In 1933, a monstrous gale destroyed the site's protective bulkhead and ruined most of the assistant keeper's belongings for which he was reimbursed by the federal government.
The Cuckolds lighthouse was automated in 1975. Three years later, the keeper's house was mostly demolished in a blizzard. The light was updated to a solar-powered Vega VRB-25 in 1998. The original lens, which is the only known American made fourth order Fresnel lens remaining, is on display at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland. The site also sports a radio beacon and remains an active aid to navigation. The station (excluding the tower) is open to the public but accessible only by boat. The Cuckolds lighthouse can be seen via numerous Boat tours out of Boothbay Harbor and is visible from the public pier in Newagen.
Lighthouse Accessibility
- This site is privately owned and closed to the public.
- The lighthouse can be viewed from several local boat tours.
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