Saddleback Ledge Light

Saddleback Ledge Light is a lighthouse on Saddleback Ledge, an islet lying between Isle au Haut and Vinalhaven, Maine, in the middle of the southeastern entrance to Penobscot Bay. The station was established and the current structure, designed by Alexander Parris, was built in 1839. One of Maine's oldest lighthouses, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Saddleback Ledge Light Station on March 14, 1988.[4]

Saddleback Ledge Light
Historic American Buildings Survey photo, July 1960
Locationwest of Isle au Haut, Maine
Coordinates44°0′51.697″N 68°43′35.217″W
Year first constructed1839 (1839)
Automated1954
Tower shapeConical Granite Tower
Markings / patternGray
Tower height13 metre 
Focal height54 feet (16 m)
Current lens12 inches (300 mm)
Range9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 6s
Fog signalHORN: 1 every 10s
Admiralty numberJ0064
ARLHS numberUSA-716
USCG number1-3325[1][2][3]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Saddleback Ledge Light Station
Nearest cityVinalhaven, Maine
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
ArchitectAlexander Parris
MPSLight Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.88000158[4]
Added to NRHPMarch 14, 1988

Description and history

Saddleback Ledge is a rocky outcrop located roughly midway between Isle au Haut and Vinalhaven Island on the east side of Penobscot Bay. The lighthouse on it marks the entrance to the bay's main eastern passage. The light station consists of a single structure, a conical tower 36 feet (11 m) in height, built out of cut granite and topped by a ten-sided lantern house surrounded by an iron deck and railing. The interior of the tower has space for the keeper's quarters and supply storage, and has narrow vertical windows on its east and west faces.[5]

The light station was authorized in 1839, and the tower was built that year to a design by Alexander Parris. It is one of five lighthouses in the state whose design is attributed to Parris. The station at one point in the 19th-century had a wood frame addition, which doubled as a boathouse, but that has long since been removed. The lantern house, deck, and railing all date to 1883. The light was the second to be placed on Penobscot Bay. It was automated in 1954.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  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. Rowlett, Russ (2009-10-09). "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. "NRHP nomination for Saddleback Ledge Light". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
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