Franklin Island Lighthouse
Muscongus Bay
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Franklin Island Lighthouse Fun Facts
Location: Franklin Island
Closest City: Friendship, Maine
Latitude: 43.8917 Longitude: -69.375
Body of Water: Muscongus Bay
Open to Public: Site: No
Station Established: 1805
Present Tower Activated: 1855
Status of Light: Operational
Tower Height: 45 ft.
Optic: 250mm, Solar Powered
Fourth Order Fresnel, 1855
National Register Reference #: Not Listed
Listing Name: N/A
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The Franklin Island lighthouse station was the first of many established in Maine in the 1800s. The Portland Head and Seguin Island stations, built in the 1790s, are the only others in Maine to pre-date Franklin Island. The original daymarker was replaced in 1855 by the existing 45 foot, cylindrical, brick tower. A fourth order Fresnel lens was anchored atop the which painted white tower. Located on the northwest side of Franklin Island at the mouth of Muscongus Bay, 27 of Maine's lighthouses were not yet even built by the time the Franklin light was in need of renovation.
The light was automated and the keeper's house demolished in 1967. A 250mm, solar-powered optic has replaced the original lens which is on display at the Boothbay Harbor Coast Guard Station. An oil house dating from 1895 is the only other remaining building on this uninhabited island.
Management of the site was contracted to a private, non-profit organization named Franklin Light Preservation. Located roughly 6.5 miles southwest of Port Clyde, the Franklin Island lighthouse grounds are open to the public but are only accessible by boat.
Lighthouse Accessibility
- The grounds are open to the public; the tower is closed.
- Franklin Island is accessible only by boat but may be
visible via local boat tour.
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