West Quoddy Head Light

{{Infobox lighthouse

| image_name = West Quoddy Head Light.jpg

| caption = West Quoddy Head Light, with Grand Manan in the background

| location = West Quoddy head/Bay of Fundy

| coordinates = {{Wikidatacoord|Q845154|region:US-ME_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| yearbuilt = 1808

| yearlit = 1858 (Current tower)

| automated = 1988

| foundation = Masonry

| construction = Brick

| shape = Conical

| marking = Red and white bands with black lantern

| height = {{cvt|49|ft}}

| focalheight = {{cvt|83|ft}}

| lens = Third order Fresnel lens

| intensity = 35,000 candela

| range = {{cvt|18|nmi}}

| characteristic = Flashing(2) White 15s

| fogsignal = HORN: 2 every 30s

| module = {{Infobox NRHP

|embed = yes

|name = West Quoddy Head Light Station

|nearest_city = Lubec, Maine

|built = 1808

|added = July 4, 1980

|refnum = 80004601{{NRISref|2009a}}

}}

West Quoddy Head, in Quoddy Head State Park, Lubec, Maine, is the easternmost point of the contiguous United States.{{cite uscghist|ME}}{{cite uscgll|1|2009|12}}{{cite rowlett|me |date=December 7, 2009}} In 1808 a lighthouse was constructed at the site to guide ships through the Quoddy Narrows. The current tower, with distinctive red-and-white stripes, was constructed in 1858 and is an active aid to navigation. The 3rd order Fresnel lens is the only 3rd order and one of only eight Fresnel lenses still in use on the Maine Coast.{{cite web |url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/docs/CG_Classical_Lens_in_Operation.pdf |date=August 6, 2009 |title=Classical Lenses in Operation |publisher=US Coast Guard |access-date=December 7, 2009 |archive-date=March 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090325150320/http://www.uscg.mil/history/docs/CG_Classical_Lens_in_Operation.pdf |url-status=live }}

The light station was added to the National Register of Historic Places as West Quoddy Head Light Station on July 4, 1980.{{cite web |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/52cde6ba-9775-4040-81c0-3bfd18acd2a8 |title=West Quoddy Head Light Station Digital Assets |publisher=National Register of Historic Places |access-date=2024-02-13 |archive-date=2024-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213032827/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/52cde6ba-9775-4040-81c0-3bfd18acd2a8 |url-status=live }}

Description

West Quoddy Head is an easterly-pointing peninsula in southeastern Lubec, overlooking Quoddy Narrows, a strait between Lubec and Campobello Island, Canada, that provides access to Passamaquoddy Bay and harbors located on the St. Croix River and other rivers which empty into the bay. Most of the peninsula is part of Quoddy Head State Park, and the light station is located near the southern end of its eastern face.{{cite web |url=http://www.maine.gov/quoddyhead |title=Quoddy Head State Park |publisher=Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry |access-date=July 26, 2014}}

A stone sign describes the lighthouse as the "easternmost point in the U.S.A." It is the easternmost building in the United States (a nearby sign proclaims the "easternmost giftshop in the U.S."), but the easternmost point is at rocks extending eastward from the shore.{{Cite web |url=http://www.clui.org/section/united-divide-a-linear-portrait-usacanada-border-0 |title=Chapter 1: Eastern Maine |website=United Divide: A Linear Portrait of the USA/Canada Border |publisher=The Center for Land Use Interpretation |publication-date=Winter 2015 |access-date=November 14, 2017 |archive-date=December 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210120228/http://www.clui.org/section/united-divide-a-linear-portrait-usacanada-border-0 |url-status=dead}} The present light station includes a tower, former keeper's quarters, service building, and oil house. The tower is circular, and is {{convert|49|ft|m}} in height, with the beacon at {{convert|83|ft|m}} above sea level. The light, magnified by a third-order Fresnel lens, has a range of {{convert|18|mi|km}}. The tower is built of brick, and painted in alternating horizontal red and white stripes. A small gabled entry vestibule, also brick, projects from the tower. The keeper's house is a wood-frame structure, 1{{frac|1|2}} stories in height.{{cite web |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/80004601_text |title=NRHP nomination for West Quoddy Head Light |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=January 28, 2016 |archive-date=April 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410083628/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/80004601_text |url-status=live }}

{{Gallery|mode=packed|align=center|height=160

|File:WestQuoddyHeadLight.jpg|

|File:WestQuoddyLighthouse2.JPG|

|File:WestQuoddyLighthouse.JPG|

|File:QuoddyNarrowsatDawn.JPG|

|File:West Quoddy Marker.jpg

}}

History

A lighthouse at West Quoddy Head, Maine, was authorized by Congress in 1806. The light station was finished on April 21, 1808, at a cost of $5,000 ({{Inflation|US|5000|1808|r=-3|fmt=eq}}). In 1820, Congress authorized the station's first fog signal, a {{convert|500|lb|adj=on}} bell, costing $1,000 ({{Inflation|US|1000|1820|r=-3|fmt=eq}}). The current tower was built in 1858. The present station was built in 1858. The former keeper's house now serves as a museum and visitor's center.{{fact|reason=The next citation is about the stamps. An inline citation is needed for 1858, and for that it currently "serves as a museum and visitor's center"|date=April 2024}} In 1990, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 25-cent stamp featuring the West Quoddy Head Light.{{cite web |title=Stamp Series |publisher=United States Postal Service |url=http://beyondtheperf.com/stamp-series |access-date=September 2, 2013 |archive-date=September 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919035409/http://www.beyondtheperf.com/stamp-series/lighthouses |url-status=dead }}. No. 247225.

Keepers

The first keeper was Thomas Dexter.
1939: Howard Grey was the last civilian keeper of the station prior to its transfer to the U.S. Coast Guard.
1962: As of August 15, 1962, BM1 Bruce Keene was OIC, or Officer-in-Charge (dates of the time he began and ended his tour are not known— he served at least through September 1964.) According to documents in the West Quoddy file, his father, LT Thomas Keene, had previously served as the head keeper of the light station.
1963: As of October 27, Keene was still OIC and (Engineman?) Richard Copeland was his assistant.
1978: Through May 31 the OIC was BM1 Cliffton Scholfield. He had a crew of two assistants: MK3 Kenneth Fisher (February–July 1977), MT2 Carl Hatch and FN David Blanding.
1978: On June 1, BM2 George Eaton took over as the OIC of the station. He had two assistants.
1979: MK3 Carl Hatch was a member of the crew.
1981: As of September 14, the OIC was BM1 John Richardson.
1988: The last OIC (keeper) was Malcolm Rouse, USCG.