Libby Island Light

Year Built

1822

Cost

$2,850

Type

Conical Granite Tower

Height

43 feet

Location

Machias Bay

Automated Year

1974

First Lit

1848 (current structure)

Lens Type

Fourth order Fresnel Lens

Fog Signal

Horn: 1 every 15s

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

White

Last Keeper - Date

Jasper L. Cheney (assistant 1933-1940, head keeper 1940-1949)

Description

Only the light tower, the fog signal house, and the boat launch still survive, all other buildings, including the keepers' houses, were removed.

Brief History

•  Noah Humphrey rebuilt the tower for $1,449, and its lantern displayed a light made up of ten lamps set in fourteen-inch reflectors, until a fourth-order Fresnel lens took their place in 1855.
•  Matthew Kellar took charge of the station in 1846, and an 1850 report deemed him a “good” keeper. The rebuilt stone tower was in good repair, but not the house.
•  In the late 1940s, Libby Island Lighthouse was modernized.
•  1998, The lighthouse was turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
•  2000, The Coast Guard overhauled the station and converted the light to solar power.