Although I live in Millinocket, some distance from the coastal regions of Maine, I share, with many coastal Mainers, a love for history and a fascination with lighthouses. So, when I was asked to review "Maine Lighthouses: Documentation of Their Past," I seized the opportunity to take a break from the many pressing problems we have here in the Katahdin area of Maine, and to delve into the history of lighthouses along my state's coast, an endeavor that I found quite rewarding.

Constructed in 1885, the first tower at Portland Breakwater was an example of wood construction (Ca. 1859 photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard).

Based almost entirely on primary sources, with more than one hundred and fifty photographs and illustrations, and comprising two hundred and twenty pages, the book goes well beyond the scope of others that I have seen on the subject, many of which consisted mostly of photographs and and a few token lines of descriptive text.

The authors utilized the National Archives for the original records documenting the histories of the many light stations that were built to aid shipping along Maine's rocky coastline from 1791, when the Portland Head tower was first lit, to 1910, when the last traditional ighthouse was completed at Whitlock Mills. The reader will find photographs of most of them, but also information derived from log books which tell the about the, mostly solitary, daily lives of lighthouse keepers, correspondence with engineers and inspection reports detailing the evolution of each station, and written communications between the keepers and various federal officials responsible for administering the lighthouses.

This was not an easy effort, I am sure; especially when you consider that throughout the first century of lighthouse building, all documents were written by hand, as the typewriter was not invented until 1874. Lighthouse keepers generally wrote their own communications, and these revealed the extent of the keeper's education and resources. Official records were themselves difficult to decipher, as there were no common rules for grammatical style in the nineteenth century and handwriting varied from clerk to clerk. Letters were transcribed just as they were written, giving the reader a feel for the times and for the conditions under which the correspondence was written.

The boathouse at Boon Island Light Station (photo courtesy of Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, Maine).

Illustrations and photographs came from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Coast Guard, which regularly photographed lighthouses along the coast, as well as earlier sources showing keepers living a rather spartan, isolated existence under harsh conditions, a record that is further documented in correspondence between lighthouse keepers and government officials.

The text is divided into five parts.

Part I, which tells the history of early lighthouse construction and administration, includes that of Maine's earliest lighthouse construction, Portland Head, as well as the those which were built on Seguin Island, Whitehead Island, Franklin Island, West Quoddy Head, and Wood Island, as well as the twin lights on Matinicus Rock, and many other early light stations. The text tells of problems with the lights on Browns Head, which failed only nine months after the construction was completed.

It also tells of the disaster on Libby Island. Constructed inexpensively, quickly, and late in the season, the lighthouse that was constructed in less than fifteen days, beginning in late October of 1822, lasted less than six months before collapsing in good weather. Correspondence between the keeper and federal officials discussed, as the most likely reason for the building's collapse, that is had been erected too late in the year for the mortar to dry before the frost came.

Drawing of one of the two towers that form the range at Doubling Point. The design for the front page was also used for the towers at Doubling Point, Perkins Island, and Squirrel Point (photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard).

The reader will learn early keepers earned less than a dollar a day, and will read requests for higher salaries from some of them, as well as the replies from their federal employers.

Part II tells of the particular challenges to both builders and keepers in erecting and maintaining some of the early offshore stations, including those on Boon Island, Moose Peak, Baker Island, Mount Desert Rock, Saddleback Ledge, Pumpkin Island, Pond Island, Whaleback Ledge, and others.

In Part III, the newly created U.S. Light-House Board revamps the system, creating a new approach to the administration of lighthouses. It also documents the building of light stations along the Kennebec River, as well as those at Rockland Harbor Breakwater, Fort Popham, Ram Island Ledge, Isle au Haut, Whitlocks Mill, and Portland Lightship, with photographs and information about many others besides.

Part IV looks further into the lives of some of the keepers, giving the reader a sense of who they were and how they lived, based in large part on the things that they said in log accounts, official and non-official correspondence. Included are the log accounts of the Burnt Coat Harbor Light Station, Eagle Island, Curtis Island, and that of Charles Skinner, a keeper who spent forty-five years at Marshall Point Light.

Another notable keeper was Marcus Hanna at Cape Elizabeth, whose father was keeper of the light on Franklin Island when Marcus was born in 1842. He spent his first ten years on the island before going off to sea. When the Civil War broke out, he did a tour in the U.S. Navy, then joined the 50th Volunteer Infantry of Massachusetts, earning the Congressional Medal of Honor. At war's end, he secured the keeper's position at Pemaquid Light, where he and his wife taught school during the winter.

Although one hundred and forty women served as principal lightkeepers for American lighthouses between 1776 and 1939, only three of them were appointed to Maine. These were Betsy Humphrey, who served as the keeper of the Monhegan Island light from 1862 until her death in 1880. The next woman to be appointed principal keeper was Melissa Holden, who replaced her husband at Deer Island Thorofare in 1874, holding that position for two years.

Captain John Skinner was keeper at Marshall Point Light Station for 45 years (1874-1919).

The third was Abbie Burgess Grant, who was born on Matinicus Island, and remained on the island after her father left his position. She worked as the second assistant to Captain John Grant, the new keeper. She fell in love with his son, Isaac, then first assistant keeper. She and her husband remained on Matinicus Rock until they transferred to Whitehead Island Light, near Spruce Head, in 1875, where they served until 1890, when her failing health forced them to resign. She died two years later.

The fifth, and last section of the book documents the history of Maine lighthouses under the Bureau of Lighthouses, between the years 1911 and 1939, including the lights on Great Duck, Two Bush, The Cuckolds, Boon Island, Grindle Point, and Spring Point Ledge, discussing the introduction of radio and other modern conveniences. It also lists lights that have been discontinued due to modern lighting technology.

Built for the single purpose of guiding mariners safely to their destinations, these lights live on today in obsolescence, as reminders of a day when Maine depended on the sea for its livelihood and on the sacrifices of a few underpaid men and women who lighted the way while living in harsh isolation.

Maine Lighthouses: Documentation of Their Past, by J. Candace Clifford and Mary Louise Clifford.

The lighthouse at Owl's Head, at the entrance to Rockland Harbor, on West Penobscot Bay, was completed in 1825. The tower was most likely rebuilt or restored after that date - there is evidence that it was in a deteriorated condition soon after completion (National Archives photo).

Bass Harbor Head Light Station in 1950. Note two fog bells - one hanging from the building on the right and one to the left of the tower. An earlier pyramidical bell tower sits behind the newer fog signal building (photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard).

In 1932, the Superintendent of Lights recommended that the station at Winter Harbor Light Station be replaced with a lighted bell buoy, saving an estimated $1,660 in maintenance costs. The property was later sold (photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard).

Side elevation, the light house and keeper's dwellings proposed for erection on Petit Manan Island.

Buy Maine Lighthouses from Amazon.com

Purchase Maine Lighthouses: Documentation of Their Past from Amazon.com.