Hendricks Head Light Explained

Location:Sheepscot River, Maine
Yearlit:1875 (current structure)
Automated:1975
Yeardeactivated:1933-1951
Coordinates:43.8226°N -69.6897°W
Shape:Square Brick Tower
Marking:White
Lens:4th order Fresnel lens (original), 250mm (current)
Range: &
Characteristic:F W with R sector
Fogsignal:Bell originally
now none
Module:
Embed:yes
Hendricks Head Light Station
Nrhp Type:hd
Nocat:yes
Nearest City:West Southport, Maine
Built:1875
Architect:US Army Corps of Engineers
Added:November 20, 1987
Mpsub:Light Stations of Maine MPS
Refnum:87002024

Hendricks Head Light is a lighthouse in Southport, Maine marking the west side of the mouth of the Sheepscot River.[1] [2] [3] The light station was established in 1829, and its present structures date to 1875. It was deactivated in 1933, but relit in 1951. The two-story wood keeper's house is now a private summer residence. The light is on continuously, showing white to the west and red to the east. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Hendricks Head Light Station on November 20, 1987.

Description and history

The town of Southport occupies an eponymous island on the Mid Coast of Maine, separating the Sheepscot River from the Boothbay Harbor. Hendricks Head is a peninsula extending southwest on the northern part of the island's western shore, and marks the westernmost point of the island. The lighthouse is located at the tip of the peninsula. The station includes a tower, keeper's house, fog bell tower, shed, and oil house. The tower is a tapered square-shingled wood-frame structure, topped by an octagonal lantern house. It was originally connected to the keeper's house via a covered walkway. The keeper's house is a T-shaped -story wood-frame building. The bell tower is a roughly pyramidal structure, with a central enclosed section housing the bell.[4]

The light station was established in 1829 to mark the mouth of the Sheepscot River, which provided access to the then-important shipbuilding and port center of Wiscasset. The original light station consisted of a keeper's house, built on a rubble foundation, with the lantern house mounted on top. The present tower and keeper's house were built in 1875, the house on the foundation of the previous building.[4]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. 2009-08-06.
  2. Book: Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. United States Coast Guard. 2009. 49.
  3. 2009-10-09.
  4. Web site: [{{NRHP url|87002024}} NRHP nomination for Hendricks Head Light]. National Park Service. 2016-04-24.