Whaleback Light is a historic lighthouse marking the mouth of the
Piscataqua River
The Piscataqua River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River to the Atlant ...
in
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States, and the oldest incorporated town in Maine. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of ...
. It is located on a rocky outcrop offshore southwest of Fort Foster and south of Wood Island in Kittery. The present tower was built in 1872.
It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1988.
History
The station (known in early records as "Whales Back") was first established in 1830 for $20,000. The tower was upgraded in 1855 with a new lantern and a fourth order
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections.
The simpler Dioptrics, d ...
. A fog bell and tower were installed in 1863. In 1869, storms had caused cracks in the tower and foundation causing the decision to build a new tower in 1872. The new tower, still standing today, was built with dovetailed granite blocks alongside the original tower, which was removed in 1880. The light is above mean sea level, and the tower, also housed the keeper's living quarters and a storage area.
[
At some point the fog bell was replaced with a horn and in 1991, the volume of the horn was reduced because it was damaging the integrity of the structure. The light was automated in 1963.]
Keepers
*Samuel E. Haskell (1831–1839)
*Joseph L. Locke (1839–1840)
*Zachariah Chickering (1840)
*John Kennard (1840)
*Joseph D. Currier (1841)
*Eliphalet Grover (1841–1843)
*J. Prentiss Locke (1843-unknown)
*Richard R. Lock (c. 1847)
*Jedediah Rand (1849–1853)
*Reuben T. Leavitt (1853–1859)
*Oliver P. Tucker (1859–1860)
*Gustavus A. Abbott (1860–1861)
*Joel P. Reynolds (1861–1864)
*Edward Parks (assistant, 1863–1864)
*Nathaniel P. Campbell (1864)
*Ambrose Card (assistant, then keeper 1864)
*Gilbert Amee (assistant 1864, then keeper 1864–1869)
*Mrs. M. M. Amee (assistant, 1864–1867)
*Isaac W. Chauncy (assistant, 1867–1868)
*James W. Verney (1869–1871)
*Ferdinand Barr (assistant 1868–1871, became keeper 3/22/1871)
*Emily F. Barr (assistant, 1871)
*William H. Caswell (1871–1872)
*Frank P. Caswell (assistant, 1871–1872)
*Chandler Martin (1872–1878)
*George R. Frost (assistant, 1872–1873)
*Frank L. Chauncey (assistant, 1873 and 1876–1880)
*John L. A. Martin (assistant 1874–1876)
*Leander White (1878–1887)
*John W. Lewis (assistant 1880–1882)
*Brackett Lewis (assistant 1883–1885)
*Ellison C. White (assistant 1885–1887, principal keeper 1887–1888)
*James M. Haley (1888–1893)
*Daniel Stevens (assistant 1887–1890)
*John W. Robinson (assistant 1890–1892)
*James Haley (Jr.?) (assistant 1892–1893)
*Walter S. Amee (1893–1921)
*Wallace S, Chase (assistant 1893–1894)
*Alvah J. Tobey (assistant 1894–1899)
*Joseph A. Pruett (assistant 1896–1897)
*John W. Wetzel (assistant 1897–1924)
*John P. Brooks (assistant, 1899–1915)
*Arnold B. White (1921–1941)
*W. A. Alley (c. 1935)
*Maynard F. Farnsworth (c. 1922–1940s)
*Charles U. Gardner (relief keeper, c, 1942–1943)
*Morgan W. Willis (1948–1950)
*Francis D. Hickey (Coast Guard, c. 1956–1957)
*Robert Brann (Coast Guard, c. 1957)
*Stephen H. Rogers (USCG, c. 1957–1958)
*James Pope (Coast Guard, c. early 1960s)
Gallery
File:Whaleback Lighthouse Maine c1950.jpg, USCG photo circa 1950
File:Whaleback Lighthouse Maine c1847.jpg, The original 1829 tower circa 1847.
File:ME - Whaleback Light - Kittery ME 03.jpg, Whaleback Light circa 2009 - winter sunrise
See also
*
References
External links
Friends of Portsmouth Harbor LighthousesAmerican Lighthouse Foundation
{{authority control
Lighthouses completed in 1829
Lighthouses completed in 1872
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Lighthouses in York County, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in York County, Maine