Cape Elizabeth, ME
Est. 1828, built 1874.
67 feetl; light 129 ft above water.

Once twin lights, the Victorian metal tower at Cape Elizabeth is known as an American icon, painted by aritsts, and for its harrowing shipwreck tales.

Jeremy's Lighthouse Guide #10

To help mark the entrance to Portland Harbor, two rubblestone towers were built in Cape Elizabeth in 1828 – Maine’s first "twin" lighthouses. It’s said that the children of the keeper draped the towers in black after the news of President Lincoln’s assassination. In 1874 the original Cape Elizabeth Two Lights were replaced by new 67-foot cast-iron towers 300 yards apart.

Marcus Hanna was keeper in January 1885 when a brutal storm hit. Hanna sounded the fog whistle all night, until he was relieved by an assistant at dawn. At 8:40 Mrs. Hanna looked out toward the ocean and saw a schooner aground, with two surviving crewmen practically frozen to the rigging. Hanna rushed out and tried a number of times to throw a line to the vessel but failed. He finally waded waist-deep into the icy water and this time hit his target. One crewman managed to pull himself from the rigging and tied the line around himself. Hanna pulled the helpless man to the shore.

Hanna's strength was giving out, but help arrived and four men managed to haul the second sailor to safety. Six months later Marcus Hanna received a gold lifesaving medal for "heroism involving great peril to his life."

In 1924 the west light at Two Lights was extinguished. In 1971 it was purchased by actor Gary Merrill (Bette Davis' ex-husband). It’s still privately owned and off limits to the public.

Cape Elizabeth Light was immortalized in a few of Edward Hopper's paintings in the 1920s, one of which was reproduced on a 1970 postage stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of Maine's statehood.

In May 2000 this treasure was licensed by the Coast Guard to the American Lighthouse Foundation. The keeper’s house is privately owned, so the scene can be admired only from a distance – from the picnic tables at Two Lights Lobster Shack, for instance.

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Copyright 2004 by Jeremy D'Entremont, New England Lighthouses
Photos are the property of the author and may not be used without permission.
Photos above from Jeremy D'Entremont.