| Location: | Spring Point Ledge, Portland Harbor, South Portland, Maine | ||||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 43.6521°N -70.2239°W | ||||||||||||
| Yearlit: | 1897 | ||||||||||||
| Automated: | 1960 | ||||||||||||
| Foundation: | Brick/Iron caisson | ||||||||||||
| Construction: | Cast iron with brick | ||||||||||||
| Shape: | Conical "Spark Plug" | ||||||||||||
| Marking: | White on black pier with black lantern | ||||||||||||
| Lens: | Fifth order Fresnel lens | ||||||||||||
| Range: | White, Red | ||||||||||||
| Characteristic: | Flashing white 6s with two red sectors. | ||||||||||||
| Fogsignal: | HORN: 1 every 10s | ||||||||||||
| Module: |
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Spring Point Ledge Light is a sparkplug lighthouse in South Portland, Maine, which marks a dangerous obstruction on the west side of the main shipping channel into Portland Harbor.[1] [2] It is now adjacent to the campus of Southern Maine Community College. It was constructed in 1897 and automated in 1960.
The lighthouse was constructed in 1897 by the government after seven steamship companies stated that many of their vessels ran aground on Spring Point Ledge. Congress initially allocated $20,000 to its construction, although the total cost of the tower ended up being $45,000 due to problems with storms and poor-quality cement. The lighthouse featured a fog bell that sounded twice every twelve seconds, and a lantern fitted with a fifth-order Fresnel lens first lit by keeper William A. Lane on May 24, 1897.
Improvements were made to the lighthouse throughout the 20th century. It was electrified in 1934, and in 1951, a 900-foot breakwater, made from of granite, was constructed in order to connect the lighthouse to the mainland. The lighthouse was originally owned and operated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG); however, on April 28, 1998, the Maine Lights Selection Committee approved a transfer of ownership of the tower to the Spring Point Ledge Light Trust, with the USCG retaining only the light and fog signal. On May 22, 1999, Spring Point Ledge Light was opened to the public for the first time in its history. Adjacent to the lighthouse is Fort Preble, the Southern Maine Community College Campus, and a small gift shop.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Spring Point Ledge Light Station on January 21, 1988.