Portland, ME
Est 1791.
80 feet tall; light is 101 feet above water

Historian Edward Rowe Snow wrote, "Portland Head and its light seem to symbolize the State of Maine -- rocky coast, breaking waves, sparkling water and clear, pure salt air." The 400,000 people who visit this site each year would probably agree.

Jeremy’s Lighthouse Guide #35

A frequent visitor to Portland Head in his younger years was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was born in Portland. Longfellow's poem "The Lighthouse" was inspired in part by his many hours spent at Portland Head Light.

Captain Joshua Strout, a native of Cape Elizabeth and a former sea captain, became keeper in 1869. A parrot named Billy was a well-known member of the Strout household. When bad weather approached, Billy would tell Keeper Joshua, "Joe, let's start the horn. It's foggy!"

Life for keepers at Portland Head Light was quite different from the popular image of the solitary lighthouse keeper. Constant tourists were, and still are, a way of life. When Earle Benson was keeper in the 1950s, a woman walked right into the keeper's house and sat at the kitchen table. The woman insisted that Benson and his wife were government employees, and she demanded service.

In 1992, the Museum at Portland Head Light opened in the former keeper's house. The museum focuses on the history of the lighthouse and nearby Fort Williams. The museum is open June through October. It’s also a treat to see this lighthouse from the sea; some tour boats out of Portland offer excellent views.

For more HISTORY on this lighthouse please click here  

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.