Cuckold Ledges
Near Southport, Maine.

Est 1892 as a fog signal station
Lighthouse built in 1907.
48 feet with 59 foot focal plane

The name Cuckolds, given to a pair of treacherous ledges at the entrance to Boothbay Harbor, is apparently after a point of land on the Thames River in London that was granted to a London man to assuage his anger after King John had an affair with his wife. The Cuckolds in Maine may have been named by a transplanted Londoner.

In 1892 funds were appropriated for the building of a fog signal station on the Cuckolds. A steam-driven Daboll fog trumpet and keeper's house were established for about $25,000. Local mariners believed a lighthouse was called for and the government agreed in 1907.

The Cuckolds was too small to build a separate lighthouse, so a small tower was built on the roof of the signal house. An attached two-story keeper's dwelling was also built.

In January 1933 a storm swept over the Cuckolds and destroyed the belongings of Keeper Harold Seavey, who was reimbursed in full by the Department of Commerce. Another keeper's wife said she was sewing near a second-story window one August day when a "freak wave" poured through the window, damaging much of the furniture.

Coast Guardsman Kelly Farrin lived with his wife at the Cuckolds for two years, 1969-1970. He shares many of his colorful memories on his website.