Halfway Rock Light

Year Built

1871

Cost

$10,000

Type

Conical

Height

75 feet

Location

Casco bay off Bailey island

Automated Year

1975

First Lit

1871

Lens Type

Third order Fresnel Lens

Fog Signal

Horn: 2 every 30s operates continuously

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

White with black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Ronald A. Handfield ( – 1975)

Description

A pyramidal, skeleton bell tower, standing forty-three feet high and constructed of ten-inch-square yellow pine timbers, was bolted to the ledge eighty feet from the lighthouse in 1887. The granite tower originally doubled as a dwelling for the keepers.

Brief History

•  In 1905, a diesel-powered Daboll fog trumpet replaced the fog bell as the station’s primary fog signal and a radiobeacon was added to the station around 1945.
•  There were three keepers employed at Halfway Rock, with two always on duty and the third usually on shore leave.
•  A storm in February 1972 damaged the Fresnel lens in the lantern room and led to the decision to automate Halfway Rock Lighthouse.
•  Halfway Rock Lighthouse was automated in 1975, and a modern, solar-powered optic replaced the Fresnel lens.
•  On May 16, 2012, Halfway Rock Lighthouse was made available under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.