Burnt Coat Harbor Light

Burnt Coat Harbor Light

Location	Blue Hill Bay, Maine
Coordinates	44°08′03.2″N 68°26′50.2″W
Tower
Constructed	1872
Automated	1975
Height	10 m (33 ft)
Shape	Square Brick Tower
Markings	White
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Fog signal	none
Light
Focal height	75 feet (23 m)
Range	9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi)
Characteristic	Oc W 4s
Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Nearest city	Swans Island, Maine
Architect	US Army Corps of Engineers
MPS	Light Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.	87002272[1]
Added to NRHP	January 21, 1988

The Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station is a lighthouse on Swan's Island, Maine.^[2][3] It is located on Hockamock Head, at the entrance to Burnt Coat Harbor and at the end of Harbor Road. Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station is also sometimes referred to as the Swan’s Island Lighthouse.^[4] Hockamock Head is a peninsula extending south from the center of the island, dividing the island's main harbor from Toothacker Bay. The light marks the entrance to Burnt Coat Harbor. It was built in 1872, and is a well-preserved 19th-century light station. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.^[1]

Description and history

The light station consists of the main tower and three buildings: a keeper's house, bell house, and oil house, set on 3 acres (1.2 ha) at the southernmost tip of Hockamock Point. The tower is a square brick structure 32 feet (9.8 m) in height, with a ten-sided lantern chamber surrounded by an iron walkway with railing. It is capped by a round ventilator. The keeper's house is an L-shaped wood-frame structure, finished in white clapboards. Just to the south of the tower stands the small clapboard bell house, a roughly square structure (it is slightly tapered), with a gable roof and doorway at one end. The oil house is a small brick structure with a doorway at one gabled end, and a small ventilator on the roof.^[5]

The station was authorized in 1871, and the tower and keeper's house were completed the following year. The station originally had a second range light, placed at the site of the bell house, with a covered way connecting the two towers. That tower and the covered way were removed in 1884. The bell house was built in 1911, and the oil house in 1895. The station was automated in 1975.^[5] The keeper's house is now maintained by the Town of Swan's Island, with financial assistance from Friends of the Swan's Island Lighthouse. The keeper's house is open in the summer with a historical exhibit and a small art gallery. The tower is also open for climbing several days per week.^[6] Further information, including a detailed history, live webcams from the tower, and recommendations on visiting the lighthouse, can be found at www.burncoatharborlight.com.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hancock County, Maine

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. August 5, 2009. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
3. United States Coast Guard (2009). Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. p. 26.
4. "Burnt Coat Harbor Light". www.mainetourism.com. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
5. "NRHP nomination for Burnt Coat Harbor Light". National Park Service. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
6. "Planning your visit". Friends of Swan's Island Lighthouse. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.