Maine Vacation
2001
Portland Head Light
Portland, Maine
Portland Head Light is Maine's oldest lighthouse. It was began
in 1787 but wasn't completed because they ran out of money. In 1789
Congress appropriated $1,500 to have the lighthouse completed. The
project was finished in 1790. The first keeper was Captain Joseph
Greenleaf who was appointed by President George Washington.
In the background, on the left side of the above photo, is Ram Island
Ledge.
This light was built in 1905 and takes its name from the jagged
reef on which it stands.
699 gray granite blocks, weighing nearly four tons each, were used
to
build the ledge on which it sits.
Today, Portland Head Light rises 80 feet above
the rocky headland and beams a white light from 101 feet above sea level.
When the fieldstone lighthouse was first built, it stood 72 feet high.
It was shortened by one-third in 1813. After the shipwreck of the
Bohemian, in which 42 lives were lost, the tower was restored to
its original size in 1865. In 1883 Portland Head Light was again
shortened but public outcry resulted in the tower being restored once again,
this time using brick.
This photo of the Atlantic Coast was taken from Portland Head
Light
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Portland Head Light
Portland, Maine
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Cape Elizabeth Light
- "Two Lights"
Portland, Maine
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Cape Neddick Light
York, Maine
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West Quoddy Head Light
Lubec Channel Light
Lubec, Maine
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East Quoddy Head Light
Mulholland Light
Campobello Island - New Brunswick, Canada
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Egg Rock Light
Bass Harbor Head Light
Mt. Desert Island, Maine
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Curtis Island Light
Camden Harbor, Maine
Rockland Breakwater Light
Rockland, Maine
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Pemaquid Point Light
Muscongus Bay
New Harbor,
Maine
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Burnt Island
Light
Boothbay Harbor,
Maine
Kennebec River
Lights
Squirrel
Point Light
Kennebec
River Light
Doubling
Point Light
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Monhegan Island Light
Monhegan Island, Maine
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The photo used in the border was taken at Portland Head Light
by
Grandma Carol on June 16, 2001
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