Libby Island Light

Libby Island Light is a lighthouse on Libby Island, marking the mouth of Machias Bay, in Machiasport, Maine.^[2][3][4] The light station was established in 1817 and is an active aid to navigation; the present granite tower was built in 1823 and improved in 1848. Libby Island Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Libby Island Light Station on June 18, 1976.^[1]

Libby Island Light

US Coast Guard photo
Location	Machias Bay, Maine
Coordinates	44°34′5.985″N 67°22′2.555″W
Tower
Constructed	1822
Automated	1974
Height	13 m (43 ft)
Shape	Conical Granite Tower
Markings	White
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Fog signal	HORN: 1 every 15s
Light
First lit	1848 (current structure)
Focal height	91 feet (28 m)
Lens	4th order Fresnel lens (original), VRB-25 (current)
Range	18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi)
Characteristic	Fl (2) W 20s
Libby Island Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Machiasport, Maine
Built	1822
NRHP reference No.	76000117[1]
Added to NRHP	June 18, 1976

Description and history

Libby Island Light is located on South Libby Island, one of two islands (collectively known as the Libby Islands) marking the southernmost approach to Machias Bay on the northeastern coast of Maine. The light station's principal feature is the lighthouse, an unpainted conical granite tower 42 feet (13 m) in height, with its base 16 feet (4.9 m) in diameter and its upper parapet 12 feet 4 inches (3.76 m) in diameter. The tower is located on the southern shore of the island, with a fog signal house to its west. A boat landing is located on the northern shore of the island, and a small helipad is near its center.^[5]

The light station was authorized in 1817, and its first tower was a wood-frame structure that was blown down about 1822. The present tower was built in 1823,^[2] and a keeper's house added the following year.^[5] A fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed in the tower in 1855, and a fog signal and several outbuildings were built the following year. The present fog signal house was built in 1884. Only the light tower, the fog signal house, and the boat launch still survive, all other buildings, including the keepers' houses, were removed. The light was automated in 1974, and converted to solar power in 2000.^[2] The Island was added to the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge in 1998.^[6] The Island is closed to visitors during the bird nesting season, and the tower is maintained as an active aid to navigation by the USCG and is closed to the public.

See also

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

Archives and records

• Libby Island, Maine Lighthouse Receipt Book at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.
• Lighthouse in My Life.^[7] Autobiographical story written by Philmore Wass, whose father was the lighthouse keeper from 1919-1940 about his time growing up on the island.

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. August 6, 2009. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
3. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 13.
4. Rowlett, Russ (October 9, 2009). "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
5. "NRHP nomination for Libby Island Light". National Park Service. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
6. "Biological Survey of Islands Within the Maine Coastal Islands NWR" (PDF). fws.gov.
7. Wass, Philmore (1987). Lighthouse in My Life. Down East. ISBN 0-89272-236-3.