LITTLE RIVER LIGHT
LITTLE RIVER ISLAND, CUTLER HARBOR, MAINE
Station Established: 1846
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1876
Operational? YES
Automated? 1974
Deactivated: 1975-2001
Foundation Materials: GRANITE BLOCKS
Construction Materials: CAST IRON/BRICK
Tower Shape: CYLINDRICAL
Markings/Pattern: WHITE WITH BLACK LANTERN
Relationship to Other Structure: SEPERATE
Original Lens: FIFTH ORDER FRESNEL
Historical Information:
- Cutler Harbor, Maine is the last protected harbor before the Canadian border. The need for a lighthouse grew as the fishing, trade and ship building industries grew. The Little River Light Station was established in 1846.
- A stone keeper’s house attached to a stone tower was the first light at the site. In 1855 a fifth order lens replaced the lamps and reflectors in the light.
- In 1876 a new 41 foot cast iron tower was built. The tower was lined with brick and still stands. At the time the original dwelling was left standing. The top of the original tower was removed though. In 1888 a new Victorian wood house was built and the original dwelling was razed. The Victorian house still remains.
- The light was automated in 1975. In 1980 the Coast Guard moved the Fresnel lens to a skeletal tower in front of the light station. The station was licensed to the American Lighthouse Foundation. In 2001 the lens was moved back to the 1876 tower.
Researched and written by Melissa Buckler, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.