Portland Head Lighthouse

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Portland Head Light

(Cape Elizabeth, Maine)

Portland Head Light is thought by many to be one of the most beautiful and picturesque lighthouses in Maine. Over the years it has been visited by people from every state and from over 75 countries. In the 1840s the lighthouse was often visited by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and most likely helped to inspire his poem called “The Lighthouse”.

Portland Head lighthouse station is situated at the south entrance to the Portland Harbor adjacent to Fort Williams State Park and is currently owned by the town of Cape Elizabeth.

In 1784 Maine was still a part of Massachusetts and at this time mariners petitioned the government of Massachusetts for a lighthouse to be built. The work to build the Portland Head Lighthouse began, but was delayed primarily due to funding issues and wasn’t completed until January of 1791. The Portland Head Light was the first lighthouse built on what is now the coast of Maine and was the thirteenth lighthouse built on the Atlantic coast.

The Lighthouse station has undergone numerous changes over the years. In terms of the lighthouse structure itself the lamp/lens has been changed eight times and the height of the tower modified three times.

The original lamp was what was referred to as a spider lamp. It consisted of a pan of whale oil that contained 16 vertical wicks in a circular pattern. The spider lamp was replaced with the “new” Winslow Lewis designed Argand lamp in 1813 and then again in 1850. In 1855 the lighthouse received a 4^th order Fresnel lens and the tower was improved by lining the inside with brick and adding the cast-iron spiral stairway.

Not satisfied with the range of the light, the tower was raised by 20 feet and a 2^nd order Fresnel lens installed in 1864. (The lens, now removed, is displayed in the keeper's house - see picture to left.) By 1883, with the establishment of Halfway Rock Light , the Lighthouse Board downgraded the Portland Head Light to a Harbor Light class and ordered it to be lowered by 20 feet and to have the 2^nd order lens replaced by the smaller 4^th order lens. This, however, was short lived and in 1885, as the result of many complaints, the tower was again raised by 20 feet and the 2^nd order Fresnel lens re-installed.

Electricity came to the Portland head lighthouse in 1929. In 1958 the Fresnel lens was removed and replaced with a rotating two-sided airport style beacon and then in 1991 a DCB-224 rotating beacon was installed. The light shines a white light that is 101 feet above sea level and can be seen from a range of approximately 24 nautical miles.

The last civilian keeper was Robert Thayer. He retired in 1946 and the U.S. Coast Guard took over. The last of the Coast Guard keepers, Petty Officer Simpson, left the light after it was automated in 1989. The station was then turned over to the town of Cape Elizabeth.

Since 1992 the Museum at Portland Head Light has been housed in the former keeper’s house. The lighthouse's actual seven foot tall second order Fresnel lens can be seen as well as two fourth order lens and a fifth order lens. The garage now houses a gift shop.

Portland Head Light is easily accessible from land and stands adjacent to Fort Williams State Park near South Portland Maine. Also, from the Portland Head Light station you can easily see Ram Island Ledge Light (see picture above).

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All pictures are the original work of Rick Totton and are protected under copyright laws.

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