Grindel Point Light

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.[3] The keeper's house now houses the Grindel Point Sailor's Museum and the lighthouse tower is open for tours in the summer.

Grindel Point Light

Grindel Point Light
Location	Ferry Rd., Islesboro, Maine
Coordinates	44°16′53.151″N 68°56′34.997″W
Year first constructed	1850
Year first lit	1874 (current structure)
Automated	1934
Deactivated	1934-1987
Tower shape	Square Tower
Markings / pattern	White
Tower height	12 metre
Focal height	39 feet (12 m)
Original lens	5th order Fresnel lens
Current lens	9.8 inches (250 mm)
Range	4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi)
Characteristic	Fl G 4s
Fog signal	Bell originally None now
Admiralty number	J0090
ARLHS number	USA-356
USCG number	1-4405[1][2]
Heritage	place listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Grindel Point Light Station U.S. National Register of Historic Places Built 1874 NRHP reference No. 87000427[3] Added to NRHP March 13, 1987

Description and history

The town of Islesboro occupies an eponymous island in Penobscot Bay, on the central Maine coast. The island is roughly shaped as two lobes joined by a narrow isthmus. The westernmost point of the island, called Grindel's (or "Grindel's") Point, is located at the southern tip of a peninsula extending southwest from the southern lobe. The light stands to the west of Ferry Road, near the wharf serving the ferry connecting Islesboro to the mainland at Lincolnville. The lighthouse is a short tapered square brick structure, topped by a lantern house surrounded by a metal deck with rounded railing. A covered passageway, slightly below ground level, connects the tower to the keeper's house, a rectangular wood frame structure with a gable roof. Just northwest of the house stands a wooden boathouse, and a small brick oilhouse stands further north.[4]

The light station was authorized by the United States Navy in 1849, and the first tower and keeper's house were completed the following year. These brick structures were deemed beyond repair in 1874, and the present station was built on the foundations of the old one. The title name is the official USCG name[2] and is derived from the name of the second lightkeeper, Francis Grindel.[5] The USCG History site calls it "Grindel Point".[1] The United States Coast Guard planned to automate the light as early as 1923. After public resistance delayed this, the Coast Guard in 1934 mounted a new light on a steel tower nearby in 1934.[4] The town of Islesboro bought the light for $1,200 and established the Sailors' Memorial Museum there. After considerable public pressure, the Coast Guard reestablished the light in 1987.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Waldo County, Maine

References

1. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-06. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
2. United States Coast Guard (2009). Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. p. 39.
3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
4. "NRHP nomination for Grindel Point Light Station". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
5. "Maine Tourism: Grindel Point Lighthouse". ALLTrips Travel Guides. 2009-08-13.

External links

• Town of Islesboro Grindle Point Sailors Museum and Lighthouse