Boon Island Light

Boon Island Light
Location Boon Island off York beach
Coordinates 43°7′17.218″N 70°28′35.119″W / 43.12144944°N 70.47642194°W / 43.12144944; -70.47642194Coordinates: 43°7′17.218″N 70°28′35.119″W / 43.12144944°N 70.47642194°W / 43.12144944; -70.47642194
Year first constructed 1811
Year first lit 1855 (current tower)
Automated 1980
Foundation Surface rock
Construction Granite
Tower shape Gray conical tower connected to building
Original lens Second order Fresnel lens
Current lens VRB-25
Range 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi)
Characteristic Flashing white 5s
Fog signal HORN: 1 every 10s
Admiralty number J0228
ARLHS number USA-071
USCG number

1-155[1][2][3]

Boon Island Light Station
Nearest city York, Maine
Built 1855
Architect US Army Corps of Engineers
MPS Light Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP Reference # 88000153[4]
Added to NRHP March 14, 1988

Boon Island Light is located on the 300-by-700-foot (91 m × 213 m) Boon Island off the southern coast of Maine, United States, near Cape Neddick. Boon Island Light has the distinction of being the tallest lighthouse in both Maine and New England at 133 feet (41 m). The lighthouse has a focal plane at 137 feet (42 m) above mean high water. The light's beacon flashes white every 5 seconds.

History

Talk of building a lighthouse on Boon Island dates back as early as 1710 when the ship Nottingham Galley ran aground on the barren outcrop that makes up the island. The crew of the Galley were forced to resort to cannibalism before being rescued. In 1799 the first day marker and the station itself were established on the island. In 1811 the station was converted to a full light station and a granite tower was constructed. The first tower along with a subsequent replacement were both washed away in storms.

The current cylindrical brown granite tower was constructed in 1855 and originally had a second order Fresnel lens installed. Boon Island Light suffered extensive damage in a blizzard in 1978. Several stones that make up the tower itself were washed into the sea as were all of the keepers dwellings and other outbuildings that had been on the island. As a result, the station was automated in 1980 and a solar powered beacon was installed by the United States Coast Guard. The station is currently active and controlled by the Coast Guard while the lighthouse itself is on lease to the American Lighthouse Foundation. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Boon Island Light Station on March 14, 1988, reference number 88000153.[4]

Historical information from Coast Guard web site:

President James Madison authorized the building of Boon Island Lighthouse during the War of 1812. A new lighthouse tower was erected near the old tower in 1855, consisting of a gray granite conical tower, 133 feet above the water, 6.2 nautical miles (11.5 km; 7.1 mi) off the coast of Maine.

As Boon Island is a very flat piece of land, well surrounded by ledges, the tower appears at times to be springing up from the sea from a submerged ledge, especially when low clouds are flying. One of the most isolated stations off the Maine coast, it is also one of the most dangerous.

One story is told of how the keepers were once marooned on the island for several weeks because of storms and rough weather. Their food supplies were low and starvation seemed to be staring them in the face. Just at the point of desperation a boat appeared and they signaled for help. The keeper’s message in a bottle was picked up by the passing schooner which hove to and anchored until the sea went down. Then the crew packed some food in a mackerel barrel and set it afloat. It drifted right into a little cove on the island and then the sea caught it and bounced it well up on the bank, out of the way of the surf. The hunger of the keepers was appeased until they were able to go ashore and get supplies at the village of York. The lighthouse was purchased from the General Services Administration in 2014 for $78,000, by Art Girard, a resident of Portland, Maine.

Legends and lore

During the 19th century a keeper died while on the island leaving his wife alone to tend to the station. She did so until she went insane and was found wandering the island by members of a rescue ship.

Viewing

Boon Island Light is not open to the public. The only way to view the tower is by boat or aircraft.

Keepers

Before the loss of the keeper's house in 1978

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boon Island Lighthouse.
  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. 2.
  2. ↑ Rowlett, Russ (2009-08-06). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  3. ↑ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-08.
  4. 1 2 Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  5. ↑ Lighthouse Depot: *Boone Island Light
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