Saddleback Ledge Light

Last updated
Saddleback Ledge Light
Saddleback Ledge Light
Saddleback Ledge Lighthouse - 01.jpg
Historic American Buildings Survey photo, July 1960
Saddleback Ledge Light
Locationwest of Isle au Haut, Maine
Coordinates 44°0′51.697″N68°43′35.217″W / 44.01436028°N 68.72644917°W / 44.01436028; -68.72644917 Coordinates: 44°0′51.697″N68°43′35.217″W / 44.01436028°N 68.72644917°W / 44.01436028; -68.72644917
Tower
Constructed1839 (1839)
Height13 m (43 ft)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
ShapeConical Granite Tower
MarkingsGray
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Fog signal HORN: 1 every 10s
Light
Automated1954
Focal height54 feet (16 m)
Lens12 inches (300 mm)
Range9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 6s
Saddleback Ledge Light Station
Nearest city Vinalhaven, Maine
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Architect Alexander Parris
MPS Light Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No. 88000158 [1]
Added to NRHPMarch 14, 1988

Saddleback Ledge Light is a lighthouse on Saddleback Ledge, an islet lying between Isle au Haut and Vinalhaven, Maine, in the middle of the southeastern entrance to Penobscot Bay. [2] [3] [4] The station was established and the current structure, designed by Alexander Parris, was built in 1839. One of Maine's oldest lighthouses, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Saddleback Ledge Light Station on March 14, 1988. [1]

Contents

Description and history

Saddleback Ledge is a rocky outcrop located roughly midway between Isle au Haut and Vinalhaven Island on the east side of Penobscot Bay. The lighthouse on it marks the entrance to the bay's main eastern passage. The light station consists of a single structure, a conical tower 36 feet (11 m) in height, built out of cut granite and topped by a ten-sided lantern house surrounded by an iron deck and railing. The interior of the tower has space for the keeper's quarters and supply storage, and has narrow vertical windows on its east and west faces. [5]

The light station was authorized in 1839, and the tower was built that year to a design by Alexander Parris. It is one of five lighthouses in the state whose design is attributed to Parris. The station at one point in the 19th-century had a wood-frame addition, which doubled as a boathouse, but that has long since been removed. The lantern house, deck, and railing all date to 1883. The light was the second to be placed on Penobscot Bay. It was automated in 1954. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

Wood Island Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Wood Island Light is an active lighthouse on the eastern edge of Wood Island in Saco Bay, on the southern coast of Maine. The light is just outside the entrance to Biddeford Pool and the end of the Saco River. The lighthouse is a 47-foot (14 m) conical white tower of granite rubble. The light itself sits 71 feet (22 m) above mean high water. Its automated beacon alternates between green and white every 10 seconds.

Alexander Parris American architect

Alexander Parris was a prominent American architect-engineer. Beginning as a housewright, he evolved into an architect whose work transitioned from Federal style architecture to the later Greek Revival. Parris taught Ammi B. Young, and was among the group of architects influential in founding what would become the American Institute of Architects. He is also responsible for the designs of many lighthouses along the coastal Northeastern United States.

Matinicus Rock Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Matinicus Rock Light is a lighthouse on Matinicus Rock, a windswept rock 25 miles (40 km) off the coast of Maine. It is one of eleven seacoast lights off the coast of Maine. First established in 1827, the present surviving structures date to 1857. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Matinicus Rock Light Station on March 14, 1988.

Goat Island Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Goat Island Light is a lighthouse located off Cape Porpoise near Kennebunkport in southern Maine. Goat Island Light was established in 1835 to guard the entrance to Cape Porpoise Harbor. The original station was upgraded in 1859 to the current brick tower with a fifth order Fresnel lens. Keeper's quarters were added to the island in 1860. The light station was automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1990 and is currently active. The keepers dwellings and tower are leased to the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust. Goat Island Light can be seen from shore in Cape Porpoise Harbor just off State Route 9 north of Kennebunkport or is viewable by boat. The island is currently closed to the public except by special arrangement.

Southwest Ledge Light

Southwest Ledge Light is an active lighthouse marking the main entrance channel to the harbor of New Haven, Connecticut. Completed in 1877, it was one of the first to be built on a cylindrical iron foundation, an innovation by Maj. George H. Elliot to address shifting ice that is regarded to be very important in lighthouse design. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 as Southwest Ledge Lighthouse.

Goose Rocks Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Goose Rocks Light is a sparkplug lighthouse located near North Haven, Maine in Penobscot Bay. It stands at the eastern entrance to the Fox Islands Thoroughfare, a busy mile-wide passage separating North Haven from Vinalhaven. Built in 1890, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Goose Rocks Light Station on January 21, 1988. The structure is now privately owned by a preservation group, and remains an active aid to navigation.

Fort Point Light (Maine) Lighthouse in Maine, US

The Fort Point Light, or Fort Point Light Station, is located in Fort Point State Park, in Stockton Springs, Maine. A lighthouse at this point has served as an active aid to navigation since 1835; the present lighthouse dates to 1857, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Owls Head Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

The Owls Head Light is an active aid to navigation located at the entrance of Rockland Harbor on western Penobscot Bay in the town of Owls Head, Knox County, Maine. The lighthouse is owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and licensed to the American Lighthouse Foundation. It is the centerpiece of 13-acre (5.3 ha) Owls Head State Park and was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Owls Head Light Station in 1978.

Isle au Haut Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Isle au Haut Light, also called Robinson Point Light, is a lighthouse located at Robinson Point in Isle au Haut, Maine. The lighthouse was established in 1907.

Bear Island Light Lighthouse in Maine, United States

Bear Island Light is a lighthouse on Bear Island near Mt. Desert Island, at the entrance to Northeast Harbor, Maine. It was first established in 1839. The present structure was built in 1889. It was deactivated in 1981 and relit as a private aid to navigation by the Friends of Acadia National Park in 1989. Bear Island Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Bear Island Light Station on March 14, 1988.

Browns Head Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Browns Head Light is a lighthouse in Vinalhaven, Maine. Established in 1832, it is an active aid to navigation, marking the southern side of the western entrance to the Fox Island Thoroughfare, a busy strait separating Vinalhaven Island from North Haven. The present lighthouse was built in 1857; and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Browns Head Light Station" on January 27, 1983.

Burnt Coat Harbor Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

The Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station is a lighthouse on Swan's Island, Maine. It is located on Hockamock Head, at the entrance to Burnt Coat Harbor and at the end of Harbor Road. Hockamock Head is a peninsula extending south from the center of the island, dividing the island's main harbor from Toothacker Bay. The light marks the entrance to Burnt Coat Harbor. It was built in 1872, and is a well-preserved 19th-century light station. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Grindel Point Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Grindel Point Light is a lighthouse in Islesboro, Maine, marking the west entrance to Gilkey Harbor at the westernmost point of the eponymous island. The light station was established in 1850, and the present tower and keeper's house were built in 1874. The station was deactivated in 1934 and reactivated in 1987. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The keeper's house now houses the Grindel Point Sailor's Museum and the lighthouse tower is open for tours in the summer.

Heron Neck Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Heron Neck Light is a lighthouse on Green's Island in Vinalhaven, Maine at the south end of Penobscot Bay. It was established in 1854 as an aid to navigation for Vinalhaven's main port, and for the Hurricane Channel extending northwest from Heron's Neck. The light was automated in 1984. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Heron Neck Light Station on January 21, 1988.

Indian Island Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Indian Island Light is a lighthouse on Indian Island on the eastern side of the entrance to Rockport Harbor, Maine. It was first established in 1850. The present structure was built in 1875. It was deactivated in 1934 and is now a private residence. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Indian Island Light Station on March 23, 1988.

Lubec Channel Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Lubec Channel Light is a sparkplug lighthouse in Lubec, Maine. Established in 1890, it is one of three surviving sparkplug lights in the state, and served as an important aid to navigation on the route from the Bay of Fundy to Eastport, Maine and the St. Croix River It is set in shallow waters in the Lubec Channel, about 500 feet (150 m) from the Canada–United States border. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Lubec Channel Light Station on March 14, 1988. The lighthouse was sold by auction into private hands on 2007.

Narraguagus Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Narraguagus Light is a lighthouse on Pond Island at the southern extent of Narraguagus Bay in Downeast Maine. It was built as an aid to navigation for the bay, and the port of Milbridge, then an important deep-water shipbuilding port. It was deactivated in 1934, and is now privately owned. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Narraguagus Light Station" on November 20, 1987.

Pumpkin Island Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Pumpkin Island Light is a lighthouse on Pumpkin Island, at the northwestern entrance to Eggemoggin Reach, a channel running northwest to southeast between Penobscot Bay and Blue Hill Bay on the central-eastern coast of Maine. The light station was established in 1854 and discontinued in 1933. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Pumpkin Island Light Station on February 1, 1988. The island and former light station are privately owned.

Whitehead Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Whitehead Light is a lighthouse on Whitehead Island, on Muscle Ridge Channel, in the southwestern entrance to Penobscot Bay, Maine. It is in the town of St.George. Established in 1804, it is one of Maine's oldest light stations, with its present tower built in 1852 to a design attributed to Alexander Parris. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Whitehead Light Station on March 14, 1988. The property is now owned by not for profit Pine Island Camp. Whitehead light station offers to the public various stays at the light station from getaway weekends to learning retreats and renting the station as a vacation home. The light itself remains an active aid to navigation, maintained by the United States Coast Guard.

Baker Island Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Baker Island Light is a lighthouse on Baker Island, Maine, which is part of Acadia National Park. The light station was established in 1828 as a guide to the southern entrance to Frenchman Bay. The present tower was built in 1855; the well-preserved tower, keeper's house, and associated outbuildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  3. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 31.
  4. Rowlett, Russ (2009-10-09). "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  5. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Saddleback Ledge Light". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-06-12.