Marshall Point Light
{{Short description|Lighthouse in Maine, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox lighthouse
| image_name = Marshall Point Lighthouse Lighthouse.JPG
| location = Port Clyde, Maine
| yearbuilt = 1832
| yearlit = 1858
| automated = 1971
| yeardeactivated =
| foundation = Granite blocks
| construction = Granite and brick
| shape = Cylindrical
| coordinates = {{coord|43|55|2.718|N|69|15|40.568|W|display=inline,title}}
| marking = White with black lantern
| focalheight = {{convert|30|ft}}
| lens = 5th order Fresnel lens (original), {{convert|300|mm|disp=flip}} (current)
| intensity =
| range = {{convert|13|nmi}}
| characteristic = fixed white
| fogsignal = 1898: Bell
1969: Horn, 1 every 10s
| module = {{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = Marshall Point Light Station
| nrhp_type = hd
| nocat = yes
| nearest_city = Port Clyde, Maine
| built = 1857
| architect = US Army Corps of Engineers
| added = March 23, 1988
| area = {{convert|5|acre}}
| mpsub = {{NRHP url|id=64500264|title=Light Stations of Maine MPS}}
| refnum = 87002262{{NRISref|2009a}}
}}}}
Marshall Point Light Station is a lighthouse at the entrance of Port Clyde Harbor in Port Clyde, Maine. The light station was established in 1832.{{cite uscghist|MA|date=2009-08-08}}{{cite uscgll|1|2009|42}}
History
Marshall Point Light Station was established in 1832 to assist boats entering and leaving Port Clyde Harbor. Four acres of land previously owned by Samuel Marshall were purchased for $120.{{Cite web|title=Marshall Point Lighthouse & Museum|url=https://www.marshallpoint.org/|access-date=2022-02-17|website=Marshall Point Lighthouse & Museum|language=en-US}} The land was named for an early settler who had a homestead, John Marshall. The original lighthouse was a {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=on}} tower lit by seven lard oil lamps with 14-inch reflectors.
The original tower was replaced with the present lighthouse in 1857. The lighthouse is a {{convert|31|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} white brick tower on a granite foundation. The tower was originally lit with a fifth-order Fresnel lens. A raised wooden walkway connects the tower to land.
In 1895, the original keeper's house was destroyed by lightning. A Colonial Revival style house was built to replace it. An oil house and a bell tower with a {{convert|1000|lb|adj=on}} bell were added in 1898. All the following keepers lived in the new house, including Charles Clement who was the keeper from 1874 to 1919. The bell was replaced with a fog horn in 1969.
The lighthouse was automated in 1980 and the original Fresnel lens was replaced with a modern {{convert|300|mm|disp=flip|adj=on}} optic.
The original lens is at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland. In 1986, the St. George Historical Society restored the keeper's house and established the Marshall Point Lighthouse Museum there, presenting the histories of Marshall Point Light and other nearby lighthouses.{{cite book |author=Jones, Ray |author2=Bruce Roberts |author3=Steve Torres |title=New England Lighthouses: Maine to Long Island Sound |year=2005 |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=0-7627-3041-2 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AXhqkqTXqsYC&dq=%22Marshall+Point+Light%22&pg=PA42 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The light station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The lighthouse appeared in the 1994 film Forrest Gump.{{cite book |author=Curtis, Wayne |author2=Tom Seymour |title=Maine: A Guide to Unique Places |year=2006 |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=0-7627-4053-1 |pages=97–98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2gAy6ECvQtkC&dq=%22Marshall+Point+Light%22&pg=PA97 |access-date=2021-12-12 |archive-date=2014-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029104823/http://books.google.com/books?id=2gAy6ECvQtkC&pg=PA97&dq=%22Marshall+Point+Light%22 |url-status=dead }}
The light station was transferred to the town of St. George in 1998 under the Maine Lights Program. The fog signal has been dismantled but the bell remains on display.{{cite book |author=Twin Lights Publishers |author2=Jean Patey |title=New England's Lighthouses: A Photographic Portrait |year=2004 |publisher=Twin Lights Publishers |isbn=1-885435-50-9 |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ae9U_ZwoLzMC&dq=%22Marshall+Point+Light%22+%22Maine+Lights%22&pg=PA8 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{Gallery
|File:Marshall Point Light old.jpg|Marshall Point Light before 1895 with original keeper's house
|File:Marshall Point Lighthouse Wide.JPG|The light and access bridge
|File:Marshall Point Lighthouse Horizontal.JPG|View from the access bridge
}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.marshallpointlighthouse.com Marshall Point Lighthouse Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194258/http://www.marshallpointlighthouse.com/ |date=2013-10-29 }}
{{Lighthouses of Maine}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Lighthouses completed in 1832
Category:Lighthouses completed in 1857
Category:Houses completed in 1895
Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Category:Lighthouses in Knox County, Maine
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Maine