Marshall Point Lighthouse
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Marshall Point Light Station is a lighthouse at the entrance of Port Clyde Harbor in
Port Clyde, Maine Port Clyde is the southernmost settlement on the St. George peninsula in central/coastal Maine and part of the town of St. George in Knox County, Maine, United States. The ZIP Code for Port Clyde is 04855. In the 19th century, Port Clyde became ...
. The light station was established in 1832.


History

Marshall Point Light Station was established in 1832 to assist boats entering and leaving Port Clyde Harbor. Four acres of land previously owned by Samuel Marshall were purchased for $120. The land was named for an early settler who had a homestead, John Marshall. The original lighthouse was a tower lit by seven lard oil lamps with 14-inch reflectors. The original tower was replaced with the present lighthouse in 1857. The lighthouse is a white brick tower on a granite foundation. The tower was originally lit with a fifth-order
Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...
. A raised wooden walkway connects the tower to land. In 1895, the original keeper's house was destroyed by lightning. A
Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...
style house was built to replace it. An oil house and a bell tower with a bell were added in 1898. All the following keepers lived in the new house, including Charles Clement who was the keeper from 1874 to 1919. The bell was replaced with a fog horn in 1969. The lighthouse was automated in 1980 and the original Fresnel lens was replaced with a modern optic. The original lens is at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland. In 1986, the St. George Historical Society restored the keeper's house and established the Marshall Point Lighthouse Museum there, presenting the histories of Marshall Point Light and other nearby lighthouses. The light station was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1988. The lighthouse appeared in the 1994 film '' Forrest Gump''. The light station was transferred to the town of St. George in 1998 under the Maine Lights Program. The fog signal has been dismantled but the bell remains on display.


See also

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National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Maine This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Maine. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Maine, United States. ...
*
List of maritime museums in the United States List of maritime museums in the United States is a sortable list of American museums which display objects related to ships and water travel. Many of these maritime museums have museum ships in their collections. Member museums of the Council o ...


References


External links


Marshall Point Lighthouse Website
{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1832 Lighthouses completed in 1857 Houses completed in 1895 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Lighthouses in Knox County, Maine Penobscot Bay National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Maine 1832 establishments in Maine