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Moose Peak Lighthouse Fun Facts
Location: - S.W. Entrance to Maine Channel Way
- Eastern Bay
Closest City: Jonesport, Maine
Latitude: 44.4745 Longitude: -67.5331
Body of Water: Eastern Bay
Open to Public: Site: Yes
Tower: No
Year Established: 1829
Present Tower Activated: 1851
Status of Light: Operational
Tower Height: 57 ft.
Optic: DCB-24 Rotating, 1993 (Solar Powered, 2000)
Second Order Fresnel, 1856
National Register Reference #: Not Listed
Listing Name: N/A
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The Moose Peak lighthouse, located five miles southeast of Jonesport on the east side of Mistake Island, was first built for $4,000 in 1827. The present tower was erected in 1851 and fitted with a second order Fresnel in 1856. The height of the tower was actually increased to its current 57 feet in 1886 by adding a watch room below the lantern. The site currently sports a 1.1 million candlepower white flashing light that can be seen for 26 miles. In comparison, its nearest neighbor, the Libby Island Light nine miles to the northeast, has a 25,000 candlepower light. Approved for construction in 1825 during the John Quincy Adams administration, the tower, which stands 72 feet above sea-level, marks the southwest entrance to the Maine Channel Way. The light is still an active navigation aid for ships crossing Eastern Bay.
The Moose Peak Light has had to serve in one of the foggiest areas along the Maine coast. In 1912, a brick building was added to house a diaphragm foghorn. That building remains on-site to this day. Between 1918 and 1934, more hours of dense fog were recorded at Moose Peak than for any other Maine station. The island averaged 1,607 hours of dense fog per year and, in 1916, the foghorn was active for 181 consecutive hours at one point.
After 145 years of being manned by a series of keeper/assistant teams, the light was automated in 1972. In 1982, the keeper's house, last renovated in 1902, was demolished as part of a Green Beret training exercise with permission from the Maine State Historic Preservation Commission. In 1993, the second order Fresnel was replaced by a DCB-24 rotating optic and in 1999 the lighthouse was refurbished and converted to solar power by the Coast Guard. Under the Maine Lights Program administered by the Island Institute of Rockland, the site was expected to be transferred to a local organization but no takers applied. Mistake Island is presently leased to The Nature Conservancy but the light is still managed by the Coast Guard. While the island is a nature preserve, visitors are allowed access to the site as long as all traffic remains on the boardwalk to the lighthouse. While the site is open, the tower is closed to the public.
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