Hendricks Head Light

Hendricks Head Light is a lighthouse in Southport, Maine marking the west side of the mouth of the Sheepscot River. The light station was established in 1829, and its present structures date to 1875. It was deactivated in 1933, but relit in 1951. The two-story wood keeper's house is now a private summer residence. The light is on continuously, showing white to the west and red to the east. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Hendricks Head Light Station on November 20, 1987.[4]

Hendricks Head Light
Undated US Coast Guard photo
Hendricks Head Light
LocationSheepscot River, Maine
Coordinates43°49′21.282″N 69°41′23.011″W
Year first constructed1829 (1829)
Year first lit1875 (current structure)
Automated1975
Deactivated1933-1951
Tower shapeSquare Brick Tower
Markings / patternWhite
Tower height12 metre 
Focal height43 feet (13 m)
Original lens4th order Fresnel lens
Current lens9.8 inches (250 mm)
Range9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) & 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi)
CharacteristicF W with R sector
Fog signalBell originally
now none
Admiralty numberJ0144
ARLHS numberUSA-597
USCG number1-5665[1][2][3]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Hendricks Head Light Station
Nearest cityWest Southport, Maine
Built1875
ArchitectUS Army Corps of Engineers
MPSLight Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.87002024[4]
Added to NRHPNovember 20, 1987

Description and history

The town of Southport occupies an eponymous island on the Mid Coast of Maine, separating the Sheepscot River from the Boothbay Harbor. Hendricks Head is a peninsula extending southwest on the northern part of the island's western shore, and marks the westernmost point of the island. The lighthouse is located at the tip of the peninsula. The station includes a tower, keeper's house, fog bell tower, shed, and oil house. The tower is a tapered square-shingled wood-frame structure, topped by an octagonal lantern house. It was originally connected to the keeper's house via a covered walkway. The keeper's house is a T-shaped ​2 1⁄2-story wood-frame building. The bell tower is a roughly pyramidal structure, with a central enclosed section housing the bell.[5]

The light station was established in 1829 to mark the mouth of the Sheepscot River, which provided access to the then-important shipbuilding and port center of Wiscasset. The original light station consisted of a keeper's house, built on a rubble foundation, with the lantern house mounted on top. The present tower and keeper's house were built in 1875, the house on the foundation of the previous building.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-06. 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. 49.
  3. Rowlett, Russ (2009-10-09). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. "NRHP nomination for Hendricks Head Light". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-24.

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