The Portland Head Light located in Cape Elizabeth, Maine was first lit with 16 whale oil lamps in January 1791 and is Maine’s oldest lighthouse!

Construction of the original 72-foot tower began in 1787 at a cost of $750. It was completed in 1790 following an additional cash injection of $1,500 from the US Government who had taken over responsibility of all lighthouses.

Keeper’s Quarters, consisting of a one-story dwelling which included two rooms, a cellar and a porch in the back, were added in 1816.

Late on Christmas Eve in 1886, a three-mast sail ship struck the ledge at Portland Head. Keeper Joshua Strout, his son, wife and volunteers rigged an ordinary ladder as a gangplank between the shore and the ledge the ship had struck. Captain O’Neil, the ship’s master, his wife and 11 members of the crew clambered onto the ledge and safety. The cause of the wreck remains a mystery as visibility was not a problem and members of the crew reported that they plainly saw the Portland Light before disaster struck.

Following automation of the lighthouse in 1989, the property was leased and subsequently deeded to the Town of Cape Elizabeth. Today, the US Coast Guard maintains the actual light and the fog signal, and the Town of Cape Vincent takes care of everything else.

As I moved around the site to take this picture, I couldn’t believe that the distant “blob” to the right of Portland Head Light was a second lighthouse!

Swapping camera lenses and the Ram Island Ledge Light Station came into focus! Today, the lighthouse is privately owned and runs on solar power.