Fort Point Light Station
Encyclopedia
The Fort Point Light is located in Maine
's 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) Fort Point State Park. The park is located on Fort Point, a small peninsula running eastward from Cape Jellison
, at the entrance to the Penobscot River
. The station was established in 1837 and was the first river light in Maine. It was automated in 1988 and remains an active aid to navigation.
The light's fourth order Fresnel lens
is one of only eight Fresnel lenses still in use in Maine.
The original fog signal, a 1200-pound (550 kg) cast iron bell suspended on a pyramidal tower built in 1890, is still visible today, although it has been replaced by a fog horn in the same building.
As Fort Point Light Station, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on March 23, 1988, reference number 87002269.
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
's 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) Fort Point State Park. The park is located on Fort Point, a small peninsula running eastward from Cape Jellison
Cape Jellison
Cape Jellison is a peninsula that juts into Penobscot Bay on the coast of Maine. In colonial times it was known as Wasaumkeag Point. It is part of the town of Stockton Springs, between Searsport and Bucksport, in the upper mid-coast region of the state...
, at the entrance to the Penobscot River
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River is a river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to , making it the second longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains .It arises from four branches...
. The station was established in 1837 and was the first river light in Maine. It was automated in 1988 and remains an active aid to navigation.
The light's fourth order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
is one of only eight Fresnel lenses still in use in Maine.
The original fog signal, a 1200-pound (550 kg) cast iron bell suspended on a pyramidal tower built in 1890, is still visible today, although it has been replaced by a fog horn in the same building.
As Fort Point Light Station, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on March 23, 1988, reference number 87002269.