Isle au Haut Light

Isle au Haut Light
Location Isle au Haut, Maine
Coordinates 44°3′53.076″N 68°39′4.952″W / 44.06474333°N 68.65137556°W / 44.06474333; -68.65137556Coordinates: 44°3′53.076″N 68°39′4.952″W / 44.06474333°N 68.65137556°W / 44.06474333; -68.65137556
Year first constructed 1907
Automated 1934
Foundation Granite blocks
Construction Granite and brick
Tower shape Conical (lower)
Cylindrical (upper)
Markings / pattern Lower: gray
Upper: white with black lantern
Focal height 48 feet (15 m)
Original lens 4th order Fresnel lens
Current lens 9.8 inches (250 mm) solar powered
Range White: 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi)
Red: 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi)
Characteristic Fl R 4s with W sector
Fog signal none
Admiralty number J0068
ARLHS number USA-404
USCG number

1-3360[1][2][3]

Isle au Haut Light Station
Nearest city Isle au Haut, Maine
Architect US Army Corps of Engineers
MPS Light Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP Reference # 87002265[4]
Added to NRHP January 21, 1988

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.

History

The lighthouse tower and surrounding buildings at Isle au Haut Light Station were built in 1907 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers at a 20-acre (8.1 ha) site at Robinson Point purchased from Charles E. Robinson. The lighthouse tower was built slightly offshore, standing 40 feet (12 m) tall and consisting of a white granite and brick cylindrical upper section on a conical granite block foundation. The keeper's quarters are a two-and-a-half-story frame and stucco Victorian house connected to the tower by a catwalk. A boathouse, oil house, and storage shed were also built at the station.[2]

The lighthouse was automated in 1934 and the government sold the property except the tower back to Robinson. The Robinson family used the property as a summer home until they sold it to Jeff and Judi Burke in 1986. The Burkes converted the keeper's quarters into a bed and breakfast called "The Keeper's House," which they operated until 2007.[2][5][6]

Isle au Haut Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as "Isle au Haut Light Station" in 1988.[4] The Coast Guard transferred the lighthouse to the Town of Isle au Haut in 1998 under the Maine Lights Program and the tower was completely restored in 1999.[7]

The lighthouse remains in service as of 2008. The current optic for the light is a 9.8 inches (250 mm) solar-powered lens which flashes red every four seconds with a white sector covering the safe channel. The original fourth order Fresnel lens is at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland, Maine.[2]

See also

References

  1. 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.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-08.
  3. Rowlett, Russ (2009-10-09). "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. 1 2 Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  5. Roberts, Bruce; Ray Jones (2002). American Lighthouses: A Definitive Guide. Globe Pequot. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-7627-2269-3.
  6. Greenlaw, Linda (2003). The Lobster Chronicles: Life On a Very Small Island. Hyperion. pp. 58–60, 66. ISBN 0-7868-8591-2.
  7. Twin Lights Publishers; Jean Patey (2004). New England's Lighthouses: A Photographic Portrait. Twin Lights Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 1-885435-50-9.
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