Cape Neddick Light

Year Built

1879

Cost

$15,000

Type

Cylindrical

Height

41 feet

Location

Cape Neddick, York

Automated Year

1987

First Lit

1879

Lens Type

Fourth order Fresnel

Fog Signal

Horn: 1 every 10s

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

White with black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Russell Ahlgren (1986 – 1987)

Description

The tower is lined with brick and sheathed with cast iron. It stands 41 feet (12 m) tall but the light is 88 feet (27 m) above sea level because of the additional height of the steep rocky islet on which it sits.

Brief History

•  The November 1842 wreck of the bark Isidore, north of the Nubble near Bald Head Cliff, pointed to the need for a lighthouse on the Nubble.
•  In 1874, the Lighthouse Board noted that the erection of a lighthouse at Cape Neddick would benefit the coasting trade.
•  The cast-iron sections of the forty-one-foot, conical tower erected on the Nubble were manufactured in Portland and then transported to the site aboard the USS Myrtle in April 1879.
•  The station was originally equipped with a fog bell suspended within a skeletal, A-frame tower. In 1890, the frame was strengthened, and a striking machine, removed from Pond Island, was rebuilt and set up at Cape Neddick.
•  In March 2013, the power line to Cape Neddick again had issues, forcing the light to operate on battery power for a few days before going dark. On April 16, the Coast Guard visited the lighthouse to install a solar light.