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South Portland, ME
Est 1897, light is 54 feet above sea.
Spring Point Ledge is a dangerous obstruction on the west side of the main shipping
channel into Portland Harbor. That ended in 1897 when this sparkplug-shaped lighthouse
first appeared.
Jeremy’s Lighthouse Guide #38
Many vessels ran aground before requests from seven steamship companies in 1891
convinced the government to build a lighthouse on the ledge. More than 500,000
passengers had passed through the area on steamships during the previous year.
 The 54-foot lighthouse has a storeroom and cistern in the basement, topped by
four levels including a keeper's office and two levels of living quarters. A bell
hung on the side of the tower and sounded a double blow every 12 seconds in times
of storm or fog.
Spring Point Ledge Light was a "stag station," with a male keeper and assistant
living inside the tower. Keepers had to be creative in their means of exercise.
Somebody figured that it took 56 laps around the tower's main deck to make one
mile. One keeper was jogging around the deck and forgot to close a trap door.
He slipped through the opening and only a ladder prevented him from falling 17
feet to a rock ledge and swirling waves.
Until 1951, the lighthouse was only accessible by boat. In that year a 900-foot
breakwater was constructed with 50,000 tons of granite, joining the lighthouse
to the mainland.
In 1998, Spring Point Ledge Light was transferred to a local consortium called
the Spring Point Ledge Light Trust. On Saturday, May 22, 1999, Spring Point Ledge
Light was opened to the public for the first time in its history. Several open
houses are now held each summer.
In 2004, a six-year effort by the Spring Point Ledge Light Trust culminated in
the replacement of the badly deteriorated iron canopy over the structure's lower
gallery.
The Spring Point Ledge Light Trust has been adding period furnishings to the
lighthouse, making it look much like it did when keepers lived inside. The Portland
Harbor Museum is near the lighthouse in Fort Preble's former ordnance repair shop.
The campus of Southern Maine Community College adjoins the property.
For much more HISTORY on this light click here for Lighthouse.cc
For more on the Spring Point Ledge Light Trust, visit the official web site
Copyright 2005 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. |
