Whaleback Light

Year Built

1830

Cost

$20,000

Type

Conical

Height

49 feet

Location

Piscataqua River entrance, Kittery

Automated Year

1963

First Lit

1872 (current tower)

Lens Type

Fourth order Fresnel lens, 1855 (original), VLB-44 (current)

Fog Signal

Horn: 2 every 30s

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

Natural

Last Keeper - Date

William J. Beasley (1961 – 1962)

Description

The new tower, still standing today, was built with dovetailed granite blocks alongside the original tower, which was removed in 1880.

Brief History

•  1820 – First lighthouse was built on the site and in 1829 a second lighthouse was built for $20,000.
•  Congress appropriated a total of $20,000 in 1838-1839 to build a breakwater on the east side of the foundation to protect the lighthouse.
•  In 1842, a civil engineer named I.W.P. Lewis was commissioned to survey a number of New England lighthouses.
•  A metal structure was built in the lee of the tower in 1878 to house a third-class Daboll trumpet operated by duplicate caloric engines.
•  1991, The volume of the fog signal was reduced because sound vibrations were damaging the lighthouse structural integrity.