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Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
Posted by Raven on June 24th, 2009
From 1881 to 1899 a breakwater was built from the northern shore of Rockland Harbor to protect the harbor from Nor’easters. The Bodwell Granite Company used around 700,000 tons of granite for the project, which cost more than three quarters of a million dollars. As the work progressed, a small moveable beacon was moved farther out each time the breakwater was extended. The light was relocated four times between 1888 and 1895. Finally, in 1902, a permanent lighthouse was built at the breakwater’s end by the W.H. Glover Company of Rockland after a Congressional appropriation of $30,000. The breakwater is almost a mile long now.
Rockland Breakwater Light was automated in 1965 and the keepers were removed. The fourth-order Fresnel lens was also removed; its current whereabouts are unknown. The Coast Guard announced that they were going to destroy the structure. A public outcry led to the nearby Samoset Resort taking some responsibility for the upkeep of the building, after the City of Rockland turned down the property.
In 1989, the resort relinquished its responsibilities for the lighthouse. The Rockland City Council applied for the property in 1998 under the Maine Lights Program. The Friends of the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse was formed in August of 1999 as a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation. The city leased the lighthouse to the group, who has made significant strides in restoring the lighthouse.
Lots of lobster boats are in the harbor, and if you like lobster…this is the place to BE.
And if you like the lobsterman, he can provide you with a plate like this, free of charge depending upon how much you like him…
June 24th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Another great lighthouse picture and tale from you, Raven. It’s been decades since I’ve had Maine lobster. I must avert my eyes…
June 24th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Imagine living in a house surrounded by the sea, and connected to land via an almost-mile-long stone wall.
When I was in Boston three years ago, for one dinner I had a seafood dish called San Francisco Cioppino (sp?), which included half of a lobster. It was, however, somewhat smaller than those two in the bottom pic.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Wow, now that would be a massively cool place to live!