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Ram Island Lighthouse Fun Facts
Location: Ram Island
Closest City: Ocean Point, Maine
Latitude: 43.8034 Longitude: -69.6
Body of Water: Atlantic Ocean
Open to Public: Site: Yes
Tower: No
Station Established: 1883
Present Tower Activated: 1883
Status of Light: Operational
Tower Height: 35 ft.
Optic: 250mm,
Fourth Order Fresnel, 1883
National Register Reference #: 87002280
Listing Name: Ram Island Light Station
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The perilous rocks of Ram Island were marked throughout much of the 1800s by lanterns tended by local mariners. They were crude and many times could not be seen beyond 100 feet. Finally, in 1883, the Ram Island lighthouse was built on the south side of this small island next to the Fisherman's Island Passage. The 35 foot cylindrical brick tower sits on a granite foundation and sits just offshore, joined to the rest of the station by an elevated walkway. The original L-shaped, wooden, Victorian keeper's residence remains at the Ram Island lighthouse site as do a barn (1883), brick oil house (1898), storage building, and a cistern.
The light was automated in 1965. The original fourth order Fresnel lens, now on display at the Boothbay Region Historical Society Museum in Boothbay Harbor, has been replaced by a 250mm optic. Soon after being automated, the Ram Island lighthouse buildings were severly vandalized and fell into horrible disrepair over years of neglect. The Coast Guard had elected to demolish the keeper's quarters in 1983 when the Grand Banks Schooner Museum Trust leased the station for restoration purposes. The Ram Island Preservation Society was created shortly thereafter and has since renovated the dwelling and rebuilt the walkway out to the tower. Ownership of the site was transferred to the Trust in 1998 via the Maine Lights Program.
The Ram Island lighthouse, located south of Ocean Point, remains an active aid to navigation but the site, exluding the tower, is open to the public. The island is accessible only by boat but can be photographed from numerous local boat tours. The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath offers tours that pass the Boothbay Harbor area lighthouses including Ram Island.
Lighthouse Accessibility
- This site (excluding the tower) is open to the public.
- The lighthouse can be seen distantly from the shore in
Ocean Point.
- The lighthouse can also be viewed via numerous
local boat tours.
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