Whaleback Light

Whaleback Light is located offshore of Fort Foster and Wood Island in Kittery, Maine, at the entrance to the Piscataqua River and Portsmouth Harbor.... more

by Mim White

Title

Whaleback Light

Artist

Mim White

Medium

Photograph

Description

Whaleback Light is located offshore of Fort Foster and Wood Island in Kittery, Maine, at the entrance to the Piscataqua River and Portsmouth Harbor. The station (known in early records as "Whales Back") was first established in 1820. In 1829, a replacement was built for $20,000. The tower was upgraded in 1855 with a new lantern and a fourth order Fresnel lens. A fog bell and tower were installed in 1863. In 1869, storms had caused cracks in the tower and foundation causing the decision to build a new tower in 1872. The new tower was built with dovetailed granite blocks alongside the original tower, which was removed in 1880. At some point the fog bell was replaced with a horn and in 1991, the volume of the horn was reduced because it was damaging the integrity of the structure.

The current lighthouse exhibits two white flashes every 10 seconds and is created by a modern VLB-44 LED light, which was installed in October 2009.[5]

In 2007, under the National Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, Whaleback lighthouse was made available to a suitable new steward. The American Lighthouse Foundation and its chapter Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses submitted an application and in November 2008, became the new owners.Whaleback Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Whaleback Light Station on March 23, 1988, reference number 87002278.

Uploaded

July 13th, 2014