Burnt Coat Harbor Light

The Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station is a lighthouse on Swan's Island, Maine. It is located on Hockamock Head, at the entrance to Burnt Coat Harbor and at the end of Harbor Road. 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.[3]

Burnt Coat Harbor Light
LocationBlue Hill Bay, Maine
Coordinates44°08′03.2″N 68°26′50.2″W
Year first constructed1872
Automated1975
Tower shapeSquare Brick Tower
Markings / patternWhite
Tower height10 metre 
Focal height75 feet (23 m)
Range9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi)
CharacteristicOc W 4s
Fog signalnone
USCG number1-2700[1][2]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station
Nearest citySwans Island, Maine
ArchitectUS Army Corps of Engineers
MPSLight Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.87002272[3]
Added to NRHPJanuary 21, 1988

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.[4]

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.[4] 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.[5] 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

References
  1. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-05. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  2. United States Coast Guard (2009). Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. p. 26.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  4. "NRHP nomination for Burnt Coat Harbor Light". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
  5. "Planning your visit". Friends of Swan's Island Lighthouse. Archived from the original on 2015-05-10. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
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