Isle au Haut Light

Isle au Haut Light, also called Robinson Point Light, is a lighthouse located at Robinson Point in Isle au Haut, Maine.^[2][3][4] The lighthouse was established in 1907.

Isle Au Haut Light

The lighthouse in 2023
Location	Isle au Haut, Maine
Coordinates	44°3′53.076″N 68°39′4.952″W
Tower
Constructed	1907
Foundation	Granite blocks
Construction	Granite and brick
Automated	1934
Height	12 m (39 ft)
Shape	Conical (lower) Cylindrical (upper)
Markings	Lower: gray Upper: white with black lantern
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
Focal height	48 feet (15 m)
Lens	4th order Fresnel lens (original), 9.8 inches (250 mm) solar powered (current)
Range	White: 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) Red: 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi)
Characteristic	Fl R 4s with W sector
Isle au Haut Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Nearest city	Isle au Haut, Maine
Architect	US Army Corps of Engineers
MPS	Light Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.	87002265[1]
Added to NRHP	January 21, 1988

History

The lighthouse tower and surrounding buildings at Isle au Haut Light Station were built in 1907 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers at a 20-acre (8.1 ha) site at Robinson Point purchased from Charles E. Robinson. The lighthouse tower was built slightly offshore, standing 40 feet (12 m) tall and consisting of a white granite and brick cylindrical upper section on a conical granite block foundation. The keeper's quarters are a two-and-a-half-story frame and stucco Victorian house connected to the tower by a catwalk. A boathouse, oil house, and storage shed were also built at the station.^[3]

The lighthouse was automated in 1934 and the government sold the property except the tower back to Robinson. The Robinson family used the property as a summer home until they sold it to Jeff and Judi Burke in 1986. The Burkes converted the keeper's quarters into a bed and breakfast called "The Keeper's House," which they operated until 2007.^[3][5][6]

Isle au Haut Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as "Isle au Haut Light Station" in 1988.^[1] The Coast Guard transferred the lighthouse to the Town of Isle au Haut in 1998 under the Maine Lights Program and the tower was completely restored in 1999.^[7]

The lighthouse remains in service as of 2008. The current optic for the light is a 9.8 inches (250 mm) solar-powered lens which flashes red every four seconds with a white sector covering the safe channel. The original fourth order Fresnel lens is at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland, Maine.^[3]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Maine

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 31.
3. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-08. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
4. Rowlett, Russ (2009-10-09). "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
5. Roberts, Bruce; Ray Jones (2002). American Lighthouses: A Definitive Guide. Globe Pequot. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-7627-2269-3. Isle Au Haut Light solar.
6. Greenlaw, Linda (2003). The Lobster Chronicles: Life On a Very Small Island. Hyperion. pp. 58–60, 66. ISBN 0-7868-8591-2. The Keeper's House.
7. Twin Lights Publishers; Jean Patey (2004). New England's Lighthouses: A Photographic Portrait. Twin Lights Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 1-885435-50-9.^{[permanent dead link]}