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Available Framed or Unframed - Click for Details
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Nearest Town: Lubec, Maine
Body of Water: Bay of Fundy
Open to Public: Yes
Year Established: 1808
Present Tower Activated: 1858
Status of Light: Operational
Location: - Quoddy Head State Park
- West Quoddy Head
Latitude: 44.814856
Longitude: -66.950772
Tower Height: 49 ft.
Optic: Third Order Fresnel, 1858
National Register Reference #: 80004601
Listing Name: West Quoddy Head Light
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Sporting a tower adorned with fifteen alternating bands of red and white, the West Quoddy Head lighthouse, located at the eastern edge of the U.S., is one of the oldest in Maine. The original rubblestone tower, built in 1808, was replaced by a 49-foot brick tower with a black lantern on a masonry foundation in 1858. A 1 1/2-story Victorian-style wooden keeper's house was also built when the tower was replaced. The lighthouse is ideally located on a forty-foot cliff, placing the focal plane at 83 feet above sea level. While the original light could be seen from just three miles out, the current third-order Fresnel (installed when the tower was rebuilt) can be viewed from as far away as 18 miles. The West Quoddy Head site also hosts a brick fog horn building (1887) and an oil house (1892).
Of primary concern to mariners passing near West Quoddy Head are the treacherous rocks (most notably the Sail Rock, the easternmost U.S. piece of land) that are often enshrouded in fog from the Bay of Fundy. A 500-pound bell was added to the light station in 1820 which was rung by the keeper at regular intervals in foggy weather. The station later tried a 240-pound high-pitch bell, a huge 1500-pound deep-tone bell, and a 14-foot long triangular steel bar as audible aids during fog. At one point, the station even experimented with a cannon. Unfortunately, none of these attempted solutions could be heard early enough to keep ships consistently safe. The station's current foghorn, located in a brick building near the tower, is quite sufficiently powerful and uses an electric eye to sense when the air has become saturated with moisture.
Ownership was transferred to the Coast Guard in 1939 and the station was automated in 1988. Today, the site's buildings and property are part of Quoddy Head State Park. The park welcome center, formerly the keeper's residence, was renovated in 2001-2002 and is located near a trail that takes visitors across a stretch of actual arctic tundra. The light is owned by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and leased to the West Quoddy Light Keepers Association. One of the more picturesque lighthouses in the U.S., the West Quoddy Head Light has appeared often in print and on television and has been featured on a postage stamp.
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