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Lubec Channel Lighthouse Fun Facts
Location: Lubec Channel
Closest City: Lubec, Maine
Latitude: 44.8414 Longitude: -66.9768
Body of Water: Lubec Channel
Open to Public: No
Station Established: 1890
Present Tower Activated: 1890
Status of Light: Operational
Tower Height: 25 ft.
Optic: 150 mm, Solar Powered, 1985
Fourth Order Fresnel, 1890
National Register Reference #: 88000152
Listing Name: Lubec Channel Light Station
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The light was constructed in 1889 for $20,000 to guide fishermen and other tradesmen in and out of the town's busy port. The 40-foot cast-iron white tower is mounted atop a black, brick-lined, cylindrical caisson (a structure of rolled-iron plates formed into a hollow shell). The structure was assembled on land and floated to its current site where it was sunk roughly 30 feet into the seabed. The Lubec tower is one of three remaining caisson (often referred to as "spark plug" or "teakettle") lights in Maine.
The Lubec Channel lighthouse is located near the harbor's western entrance in relatively shallow water, as is common with caisson structures, in the middle of Lubec Channel between Campobello Island and Lubec and can be seen from the Roosevelt Memorial International Bridge.
The Lubec Channel lighthouse was automated in 1939 and its fourth order Fresnel lens was replaced with a 150mm solar-powered optic in 1985. In 1989, however, its service was to be discontinued. A local campaign saved the lighthouse and in 1992 the Coast Guard initiated a $700,000 renovation project to restore the light. The project included driving twelve new piles into the bedrock to stabilize the facility and correct a tilt which had gradually developed over time (the light still isn't quite vertical but is stable). Over 200 cubic yards of concrete was pumped into the caisson which was reinforced with new plating. The structure was then painted and further maintained in 2001.
The tower has five decks. The two lower levels served as living room/kitchen and bedroom, respectively. There are cisterns in the basement. The site's original 1,000 lb foghorn is currently on display at the local Lubec Historical Society.
Lighthouse Access
- The lighthouse is not open to the public and is best
viewed by boat.
- The lighthouse can be seen from the Roosevelt
Memorial International Bridge which connects Lubec and
Campobello Island.
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