Squirrel Point Light

Squirrel Point Light

U.S. Coast Guard photo
Location	Kennebec River, Maine
Coordinates	43°48′59.483″N 69°48′8.572″W
Tower
Constructed	1898 (1898)
Construction	lumber
Automated	1979
Height	7.5 m (25 ft)
Shape	Octagonal Wood Tower
Markings	White
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Fog signal	none
Light
Focal height	25 feet (7.6 m)
Lens	5th order Fresnel lens (original), 9.8 inches (250 mm) (current)
Range	White 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) Red 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi)
Characteristic	Isophase Red 6s with W sector
Squirrel Point Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Nearest city	Arrowsic, Maine
Area	5 acres (2.0 ha)
Architect	US Army Corps of Engineers
MPS	Light Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.	87002281[1]
Added to NRHP	January 21, 1988

Squirrel Point Light is a lighthouse marking the southwestern point of Arrowsic Island on the Kennebec River.^[2][3][4] It was established in 1898, as part of a major upgrade of the river's lights — the Doubling Point Light and the separate Range Lights on the point, Perkins Island Light, and Squirrel Point Light were all built at the same time. The light station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Squirrel Point Light Station on January 21, 1988.^[1]

Description and history

Arrowsic Island is a large island on the Mid Coast of Maine, bounded by a number of tidal rivers. The main one, the Kennebec River, is on the west side of the island, flowing south from the major port and shipbuilding city of Bath to the Gulf of Maine. Squirrel Point is the southwestern tip of the island. The light station at Squirrel Point includes a tower, keeper's house, barn, boathouse, and oil house. The tower is an octagonal wood-frame structure, with the lantern house topped by a ventilator and surrounded by an iron railing and wooden bracketed gallery. A gabled sound signal chamber is attached to one side. The keeper's house is a two-story wood-frame structure with a cross-gable roof.^[5]

The United States Congress authorized improvements to the aids to navigation on the Kennebec River in 1895, and this station was built under that authorization in 1898. The oil house was added in 1906, and the station was automated in 1982.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  Squirrel Point Light with keeper's quarters
• 
  From upriver
• 
  From downriver
• 
  The boathouse — The ridge is parallel to the ground, but the ends and the window are vertical
• 
  Daytime Squirrel Point Light with light on

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Sagadahoc 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. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
3. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 52.
4. Rowlett, Russ (October 9, 2009). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
5. Kirk Mohney (1977). "NRHP nomination for Squirrel Point Light Station". National Park Service. Retrieved June 17, 2016. with photos from 1987