Name/Title
West Quoddy Head Light Station | West Quoddy Head, Lubec, MaineDescription
Built:1807-1808
Address:
West Quoddy Head
Lubec, Maine
National Register
From Sunrise County Architecture (2nd revised and enlarged edition) 1996, p.109:
WEST QUODDY HEAD LIGHT (LUBEC)
In' 1807-1808, the United States Light House Board first lit a lighthouse in Washington County, Maine, to which tourists can actually walk. This is West Quoddy Head Light. Misnamed because it is the easternmost U.S. light, located on the easternmost point in the U.S., it is southwest of the Town of Lubec. Only seven lighthouses in Maine, none in this county, are older than West Quoddy. The familiar 83-foot, red-and-white horizontally striped tower is one of the most photographed and painted buildings in this State. This beacon was also sometimes called "Passamaquoddy Light." Equipped with a fog bell in 1820, which was replaced by a steam-powered fog hom in 1869, West Quoddy Head Light warns ships entering Passamaquoddy Narrows of the treacherous Sail rocks before these ships can enter Lubec Channel. This light was reconstructed in 1858. The keeper's house is a 1-1/2 story wooden frame, with gabled roof and three brick chimneys. On a clear day Grand Manan, N.B., Canada, only nine miles off the Maine shore but many miles south of Lubec, is visible. The much smaller Campobello Island, which is much closer, therefore is clearly visible from West Quoddy Head. Unlike some other lighthouses, West Quoddy Head is part of a 400-acre park, ideal for tourist picnics. F AB, JCB