Portland Head Lighthouse is located at Fort Williams State
Park, Cape Elizabeth, ME. Construction of Maine's oldest lighthouse began in
1787, but abandoned before much could be accomplished due to lack of funds. Then
in 1789, the new nation's first Congress appropriated $1,500 to complete the
project. In November 1790 it was completed and the light first lit in 1791. President
George Washington appointed Captain Joseph Greenleaf as the first keeper.
The fieldstone tower originally stood seventy-two feet high overall, but was shortened by more than one-third in 1813. Then in 1865 it was restored following public outcry over the loss of forty-two lives along the Cape Elizabeth shore in the unfortunate shipwreck of the Bohemiam, a transatlantic steamer. In 1883 local residents loudly protested a second lowering of the tower. They succeeded in having the cropped amount built back, and this time builder’s utilized brick. The overall tower structure now stands eighty-feet above the rocky headland, and its white light beams from one-hundred-one feet above sea level.
The morning of my visit here in 1997, the fog was so thick upon arrival in the parking lot that the lighthouse was barely visible. After waiting for several minutes, the fog moved and enabled me to cautiously walk along the rocky shore to take pictures. Although fog surrounded the lantern room, at the right moment I still was able to capture the light flashing through the fog .
The fieldstone tower originally stood seventy-two feet high overall, but was shortened by more than one-third in 1813. Then in 1865 it was restored following public outcry over the loss of forty-two lives along the Cape Elizabeth shore in the unfortunate shipwreck of the Bohemiam, a transatlantic steamer. In 1883 local residents loudly protested a second lowering of the tower. They succeeded in having the cropped amount built back, and this time builder’s utilized brick. The overall tower structure now stands eighty-feet above the rocky headland, and its white light beams from one-hundred-one feet above sea level.
The morning of my visit here in 1997, the fog was so thick upon arrival in the parking lot that the lighthouse was barely visible. After waiting for several minutes, the fog moved and enabled me to cautiously walk along the rocky shore to take pictures. Although fog surrounded the lantern room, at the right moment I still was able to capture the light flashing through the fog .
Besides having the distinction of being the oldest lighthouse
in Maine, The Portland Head Lighthouse also has the honor of having its image printed
on a stamp. This lighthouse is one of five lighthouses selected to represent the
New England Coastal Lighthouses on U.S. Postage Stamps. The stamps were
issued in 2013 as Forever and priced at 46 cents. The picture below is similar to
the image on the Portland Head Lighthouse stamp.
The other four lighthouses representing New England
Coastal Lighthouses are: Point Judith Lighthouse, Narragansett, RI; Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, New Castle, NH; Boston Harbor Lighthouse, Boston, MA; and the New London Harbor Lighthouse, New
London, CT.
Except for the Point Judith Lighthouse, I am privileged to have visited and photographed all
of the aforementioned lighthouses.
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