Indian Island Light

Indian Island Light  www.uslhs.org

  Indian Island located off the shore of Rockport Maine is on the site where a light has stood since 1834.  That light was the first of two and consisted of a wooden building with a tower built on the roof, it was dis-established in 1855.
  By 1874 the Lime Kilns in Rockport were operation 24 hours a day and shipping traffic was heavy, the present Indian Island Light was built and ready for service in 1875.  Indian Island Light was replaced by an automatic light on nearby Lowell Rock, the property has been in private hands since that time.  It can be viewed from shore at Rockport Harbor.

An early Coast Guard photo.

There are other photos to be found on Google Images, but none that I could use due to copyright information.

Hendricks Head Light

Click on this photo of Hendricks Head Light photo from www.uslhs.org

  A Light was established at Hendricks Head in 1823.  That lighthouse consisted of a granite keepers house with a tower built on the roof.
  The present Light was built in 1855 the square tower is brick.  The walkway was covered when the Light was built, and the fog bell was hand held.
  Located on a part of Southport Island at the mouth of the Sheepscot River; the light is visable, at a distance, from Southport beach.  It can be seen from excursion boats that leave Boothbay Harbor or Bath.

The first Light at Hendricks Head (Boothbay Region Historical Society)

This Coast Guard photo shows the present Light, maybe around 1870

A different day

I didn't do my "homework", so I wasn't ready to do a blog this morning.  I guess what you'll see today are things that are going on in my neck of the woods.
I will also share that later this morning I am going to celebrate 31 alcohol free years with a group of friends.  I am now back into walking every day, I don't think that 5 miles a day is in my future for quite a while.

Well, let's get on with the show, you can click to your hearts content, these are all larger than shown;  and thank to the Bangor Daily News for most of these photos.

Water from underground springs seep through the rock and freeze on the
Canyon Ridge Trail in Acadia National Park

Snow on the Knife Edge of Mount Katahdin

Old locomotive sit at Eagle Lake.  They were used to haul logs
from other areas to Chamberlain Lake so they could
be "rafted" down the river to Bangor sawmills.

January 25, 2012.  On Center Hill, Easton, Maine
That night the potato fields got lit up.

Halfway Rock Light

Halfway Rock Light

  Halfway Rock is a tiny ledge 10 miles east of Portland Head Light, it's name implies it's position that is halfway between Cape Elizabeth and Phippsburg in Casco Bay.
  The Light was built in 1871, constructed of granite it stands sentry on the ledge at 76 feet tall.  It flashes red every 30 seconds, and the fog bell sounds twice every 30 seconds.
  Originally the keepers quarters were in the tower, a kitchen on the first level, the principal keepers bedroom on the second, and the other keepers bedroom on the third level.  The light had a fifth order Fresnel Lens the shone steady white with a red flash every six seconds, it had a clock mechanism that was wound every 24 hours, the original bell also had clock like machinery and had to be wound every day; all of the devices were checked every hour.
  Halfway Rock was automated in 1975 with an optic lens; the Fresnel Lens is location in the museum at the U S Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT.

This 1960's photo shows the original bell tower and water tank (back right)

A Coast Guard aerial view shows the rock.

A www.lighthousefoundation.org photo of winter after automation.

Grindle Point Light

Standing on guard, a Wikipedia photo - click

  Located on the island of Islesboro this light was established in 1848.  At that time Gilkey Harbor on the island was a bustling port.  Islesboro is now a summer haven for actors like John Travolta and Kristie Alley.
  The light was de-commisioned in 1934, but was restored to service in 1987 with solar power.  The light remains an active aid to navigation.
  There is also a museum on the grounds with Lighthouse Keeper display and other nautical pieces.
To visit you would need to take a ferry from the mainland from Lincolnville (between Belfast and Camden).

The Islesboro/Lincolnville Ferry (State of Maine photo)

A Coast Guard photo from the late 1800's

A wider view (State of Maine photo)

Great Duck Island Light

The Light on Great Duck Island (wikipedia)

  Mariners asked that a light be built in 1823, after being rebuffed numerous time Congress allowed
the amount of $30,000.00 for the construction and purchase of property.  Work began in November 1890, in January, just months before, a lumber schooner from Lubec, Maine ran aground and sank on Great Duck, 3 sailors were killed and are buried on the island.
  Construction consisted of a double boat slip, the Light itself and three keepers houses.  Also built were an oil house and a building for the fog horn and bell.
  A son of a former keeper once reported that the fog horn once sounded for 13 straight days, his quote "it's noisy down there", sums it up nicely.
  The light was automated in 1986, the land and buildings are now owned by the College of the Atlantic (www.coa.edu) in nearby Bar Harbor.  The College uses the remaining keepers house as a "headquarters" for the studies conducted on the island.  The Island itself is home to many pairs of breeding birds which aid the students in their research.

The remaining house (www.coa.edu)

An aerial view when all buildings were intact (USCG)

Locations of Lights in Frenchmans Bay

Goose Rocks Light

Nice photo by www.unc.edu of the light

  Goose Rocks Light stands between Vinalhaven Island and North Haven Island in the Fox Island Thorofare.  There are fifty islands in the Fox Island group, so we've already listed several lights in that area.
  This light is typical of the sparkplug lights built during the late 1800's and early in the 1900's.  Goose Rocks was built in 1890 with a cast iron caisson filled with concrete.  It was painted red until 1908 when the present paint scheme was adopted.  It can be reached only by a small boat, the boat was hoisted up to the deck because the tides run nine to ten feet.
  A Coast Guard Crew during 1958-1960 left an apt description of living on the Light.  There was a crew of three, and one of them was always off duty and onshore.  The other two took turns working 12 hour shifts, someone was always awake to log changes in the weather.  The fog bell ran with a mechanism must like a clock, and during times of fog had to be wound, like a clock, every four hours.  The water was collected rain water, the light, interior lights, TV, and radio were all run one one battery, which was charged by a diesel engine.  The bathroom consisted of a one-hole affair and the waste was discharged overboard.  To take a bath water was heated on the gas stove.  Each crew was assigned for two years, but the duty was enjoyed - because no one else wanted their jobs!
  The light flashes red every 6 seconds with a white sector.

How the lens is set up to show the white sector.

A Coast Guard photo shows the power now that
the light is automated.

Goose Rock is located right about
center on this map