Maine - Fort Point Lighthouse

Fort Point Lighthouse is located in the Fort Point State Park, Stockton Springs, ME.  Fort Point, at the tip of Cape Jellison, forms the west side of upper Penobscot Bay, below the entrance to Penobscot River. The spot was the site of Fort Pownall, a 1759 British fortification to hinder French military movements to and from the bay. (Maine was, at that time, a part of Massachusetts).

Fort Point Lighthouse was established by order of President Andrew Jackson to aid vessels bound for Bangor, a leading lumber port. In 1837 the first wooden twenty-four foot tower was built, and nearby the keeper's quarters. Due to inferior workmanship, both buildings quickly went to pieces. In 1857 they were replaced with the current thirty-one foot brick tower, located two-hundred-fifty feet northeast of the original lighthouse. That same year, a two-story keeper's house was attached to the tower. In 1890 a bell tower was added to provide a fog signal, then in 1897 an oil house was built. At the time of my visit in 2001, all buildings still remained and the 1857 Fresnel lens was still in use. The keeper's quarters were the residence of the park ranger for Fort Point State Park, which incorporates the light station and adjacent fort grounds. The bell served until the 1960's when it was replaced by a fog horn. The bell now hangs outside its pyramidal tower as shown below.

This is one of the few remaining bell towers in ME, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tower houses historic photos and is sometimes open to the public. During its use, the lighthouse keeper rigged a rope from the keeper's house to this tower so he didn't have to leave the house to ring the bell.