Cape Porpoise, ME
Est 1833; present light 1859
25 feet, light is 38 feet above water
It’s said that Captain John Smith (1614) named Cape Porpoise near Kennebunkport,
Maine, after a school of porpoises he saw there. The light there at Goat Island has
even had a role in protecting President George Bush.
Jeremy’s Lighthouse Guide #29
Established in August 1833 for $6,000, the first 20-foot Goat Island Lighthouse
was built as a guide to the sheltered harbor at the cape, which was a busy fishing
center for many years. In 1859 the present 25-foot brick tower and a new house
replaced the original buildings.
Coast Guard Keeper Joseph Bakken, who lived at Goat Island with his wife and
three children, told historian Edward Rowe Snow about his experience during a
particularly severe storm in 1947. As Snow later wrote, the waves washed over
the island and did great damage. In the commotion the family forgot about their
dog and her newborn puppies.
Later that night Bakken went into the cellar and found several feet of water.
Floating in the seawater was the box that contained the dog and her puppies. All
were safe and sound and the keeper brought them upstairs out of harm's way.
In 1990 Goat Island Light became the next to the last lighthouse in the United
States to be automated. Brad Culp, his wife Lisa, and their two children, Christian
and Dakota, comprised Maine's last traditional lighthouse family.
For a time during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, secret service agents
lived at Goat Island, which offers a good vantage point on Bush's estate at Walker's
Point. The island served as an air-sea command center complete with a radar beacon.
In 1998, under the Maine Lights Program, the lighthouse station became the property
of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust. Scott Dombrowski of the Trust has spent
some recent summers on the island with his wife, Karen, their two sons, Eric and
Gregory, and three dogs. Scott has been decorating Goat Island Light with an elaborate
display of Christmas lights the last several holiday seasons.
The lighthouse can be seen at a distance from the public wharf in Cape Porpoise.
Visitors with private boats are welcome to the island and tour boats from Kennebunkport
pass nearby.
For detailed HISTORY of this lighthouse,visit Jeremy's web site
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.
