INSIDE OUR SEACOAST LOGO

Ten years ago we were selected Portsmouth Harbor Light as the ultimate icon of the New Hampshire seacoast region. Its sharp outline, sturdy frame and strategic positioning at the mouth of the Piscataqua makes it the most photographed site in the region. But most visitors only see it from the deck of a cruise boat. We got the grand tour. Now you get the view too.

VISIT: Jeremy’s Lighthouse Guide

It was a great day for the "New Castle Light" when it was adopted by a group of dedicated volunteers. Still technically government property, Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse has finally become accessible to the public and is being cared for and maintained by an association of "friends" in cooperation with the American Lighthouse Federation. Each summer and fall, during key days, the group holds an "open house" series.

We followed a Connecticut family tour led by Jeremy D’Entremont to the top of the light. Jeremy is not only the SeacoastNH "lighthouse guy" and author of a series of books on New England lighthouses, but current president of the Friends of Portsmouth Lighthouse.

We’re not going to give you too many details. These photos are just to whet your appetite. We want you to take the tour and to donate whatever time and funds you can to this important project. The group needs to establish an endowment to pay for the endless maintenance and repair of the weathered iron structure with its brick interior. This year the group rebuilt the brick "oil house" to create a small interpretive museum space. Funds for constant maintenance are always rising, now that the US Coast Guard is divesting itself of our beloved Atlantic lighthouses.

Keeper Jeremy, like so many keepers before, opened the heavy metal door and showed us around inside. For more info on the interior, visit Jeremy’s web site – a wealth of data on this famous structure. From the top you can look down onto the historic Fort Constitution, site of the 1774 raid by New Hampshire patriots. Inch a peek over the iron railing, and you can watch the surf breaking on the rocks below. Here you will find the best view of the Isles of Shoals and the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

For much much more on New Hampshire’s only mainland lighthouse (the other is out to sea at White Island) visit Lighthouse.cc.

SEE THE VIEW from the top of the lighthouse