Spring Point Ledge Light & Fog Signal Station
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Point Ledge Lighth Spring ouse & Fog Signal Station A Brief History Spring Point Ledge Light & Fog Signal Station Established 1897 A Brief History Compiled by Rusty Nelson CONTENTS Introduction . 4 The .Cast .Iron .Caisson . 9 Operating .a .Lighthouse . 1 The .Keepers . 14 Ducking .Fame .No .More . 17 The .Lantern .Room . 18 The .Case .of .the .Missing .Privy . 0 The .Sector .Box . 1 The .Problem .with .Ice . The .Fog .Signal . 4 The .Breakwater . 6 Post .Cards . 8 Preservation .and .Restoration . 30 A .Chronology . 31 Spring Point. Ledge. Light. Station. is. listed. on. the. National. Register of. Historic. Places. and. has. been. surveyed. and. listed. by the. Historic. American. Buildings. Survey/Historic. Ameri. - can Engineering. Record. (HABS/HAER). Copyright .©005 .by .the Spring .Point .Ledge .Light .Trust P . .O . .Box .311 South .Portland, .ME .04116-311 www .springpointlight .org This .publication .was .funded .by .a .grant .from .the .U .S . .Lighthouse .Society . www .USLHS .org F f A typical scene in Portland Harbor in 1911. The lighthouse keepers are in the station dory at the base of the ladder. That both of them were in it at the same time is questionable. However this glass plate negative was taken for use in a post card and was probably posed, as was often the case. Or maybe they were just going to do a little local fishing! On the left a fishing sloop is on the way out into the Gulf of Maine while Pilot Boat #2 is headed out to pick up an incoming vessel. In the right background the Peaks Island steam ferry of Casco Bay Lines is headed into Portland. Note the two sets of davits which allowed the keeper to always have a lee and associated rigging on the tower. There were times when two dories were in use at this lighthouse, although one may have been the personal property of a keeper. Photo from the Library of Congress via the U. S. Lighthouse Society. F 3 f INTRODUCTION Spring .Point .Ledge .Lighthouse .was . In .1891 .seven .steamship .lines .carry- constructed .to .mark .a .dangerous .ledge . ing .a .500,000 .people .past .Spring .Point . which .is .now .covered .by .the .breakwater . petitioned the. Lighthouse. Board. in. Wash. - Numerous .ships .had .struck .the .ledge . ington, .DC .for .a .lighthouse . .And .local . which .extended .into .the .main .shipping . shipowners had. petitioned. the. Lighthouse. channel .Vessels . running. onto. ledge. often. Board .for .many .years .before .funds .were . floated off. at. high. tide. .But . not. always:. in. made available. for. construction. 183, .the .schooner .Nancy, .loaded .with . Finally, in. 1891,. the. shipowners. enjoyed. lime, .ran .onto .the .ledge .hard .enough .to . success and. the. Lighthouse. Board. present. - split .her .hull . .Lime .ignites .when .wet, .so . ed .a .formal .request .to .Congress .to .build . she burned. to. the. waterline. with. only. her. a fifth-order. Lighthouse. for. an. estimated. sails and. rigging. saved. $45,000 . .The .request .was .denied, .but . In .response, .a .large .spar .buoy .was . repeated requests. finally. bore. fruit. in. 1895. anchored to. the. end. of. the. ledge. .However, . when .an .initial .amount .of .$0,000 .was . it did. not. survive. the. winters,. and. vessels. authorized to. begin. construction. .Fifteen . continued .to .hit .the .ledge: .Mazatlan, months later. the. remaining. $. 5,000 was. Seguin, Solomon Poole, Smith Tuttle .and . made available. others .The . most. spectacular. was. the. bark. Harriet S. Jackson. Running. for. shelter. in. Construction Begins the great. gale. March. .0–1, 1876. she. ran. Thomas .Dwyer .of .New .York .City . onto .the .ledge . .Steam .tugs .managed .to . received .the .contract .from .the .Light- drag her. off. rocks. house .Board .to .build .a .cast .iron .caisson . lighthouse of. standard. design. .During . this. period of. time,. the. Lighthouse. Board. was. heavily .into .cast .iron .construction, .and . probably chose. a. New. York. City. contractor. because of. his. experience. .Such . experience. would .likely .have .allowed .him .to .submit . the lowest. bid,. beating. out. any. local. firms. which might. have. competed. Construction .started .August ., .1896 . with divers. assembling. the. cast. iron. caisson. plates underwater. .The . work. went. smoothly. until a. storm. on. September. 6th. deformed. 1 many .of .the .1 . ⁄8-inch .iron .plates .already . in .place . .The .damage .was .estimated .at . $5,000 .Of . equal. importance. was. the. time. lost obtaining. new. iron. plates. from. the. roll. - ing mill. in. Pennsylvania,. which. took. nearly. a month,. bringing. the. December. comple. - tion date. into. question. F 4 f Work resumed. in. October. and. contin. - the .source .of .illumination .until .the .light . ued at. a. steady. pace. .T . he structure. broke. was electrified. in. 1934. above .water .October . During .October . Although .Spring .Point .Ledge .Light- the .caisson .was .completed, .filled .with . house it. is. basically. a. standard. design. simi. - cement, and. cast. iron. work. finished. lar .to .many .other .caisson .lighthouses, .it . In early. November. government. inspec. - is different. in. several. respects. .The . three. tors halted. the. job. due. to. disagreement. over. floors .above .the .caisson .are .double-wall . the .type .of .cement .used .to .fill .the .foun- brick, .most .lighthouses .of .this .type .are . dation . .This .argument .might .have .been . cast iron. throughout. with. brick. lining. .In . brought .about .by .the .contractor .allowing . addition, the. first. floor,. used. as. a. cellar. for. for excessively. large. cisterns. in. the. concrete. storage of. tools. and. fuel,. is. actually. within. base, thus. saving. what. amounted. to. many. the .cast .iron .caisson .below .the .gallery . cubic yards. of. cement!. Construction. again. This .makes .the .structure .appear .shorter . stood .still .for .three .weeks .but .the .name- than .other .similar .towers . .However, .the . calling .and .finger-pointing .did .not . .In . caisson .(at .a .total .of .40 .feet .in .height) .is . the .end, .the .contractor .won .out .and .was . built higher. than. average,. putting. the. focal. allowed to. continue. .(Whatever . the. prob. - plane at. a. height. of. 54. feet. .One . reason. is. lem was,. the. cement. in. question. has. lasted. the relatively. large. difference. of. 10-11. feet. for well. over. a. century!). between high. and. low. tide. By .March .of .1897, .the .tower .was . Another unusual. facet. of. the. lighthouse. complete .and .painted . .The .Fresnel .lens . is .the .fact .that .it .is .one .of .the .very .few . and lamp. apparatus. were. installed. in. April,. lights .of .this .type .you .can .walk .around . but .bureaucratic .formalities .took .several . Nearly .all .other .caisson .lights .are .fully . additional weeks. .Finally . Keeper. William. surrounded by. water,. but. the. breakwater. A .Lane . lit. the. kerosene. lamp. for. the. first. permits Spring. Point. Ledge. Lighthouse. to. time on. May. .4, 1897. .Kerosene . remained. welcome .thousands .of .pedestrians .every . F 5 f year .It . is. a. favorite. local. Ledge .Light .Trust .by . fishing .spot, .especially . the .U . .S . .Coast .Guard . when Stripped. Bass. are. in .June, .1998 .as .part . running . of .the .Maine .Lights . Today, .totally-auto- Program . .The .Trust .is . mated . Spring . Point . responsible .for .main- Ledge Lighthouse. marks. taining .the .structure . the .entrance .into .Port- and for. making. it. avail. - land Harbor. by. showing. able to. the. public. .Since . a .narrow .arc .of .white . acquiring ownership. the. light .(331°–337°) .to .a . Trust .has .held .open . mariner .properly .posi- houses .every .year .and . tioned .in .the .channel . has .opened .the .light- On either. side. of. the. fair. - house to. special. groups. way, the. light. shows. two. as .well .as .a .growing . red sectors. .The . present. number .of .tour .buses . characteristic .is .a .one . It provides. an. important. second flash. every. six. seconds,. visible. for. source of. the. funding. needed. to. continue. 1 miles. .The . automatic. fog. signal. emits. a. preservation work. .Since . 1998,. more. than. one second. blast. every. 10. seconds. 4,000 .people .have .visited .the .site . .The . The .Spring .Point .Ledge .Lighthouse . Coast .Guard .continues .to .maintain .the . was .officially .deeded .to .the .Spring .Point . active Aids. to. Navigation. equipment. Shoreline today Portland Breakwater Lighthouse Shoreline before 1890 Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse Spring Point Ledge Cushing Point Fort Spring Preble Point SOUTH PORTLAND When Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse was constructed, the shoreline was very much different than today. F 6 f Excerpts from the booklet containing specifications for prospective bidders issued by the Lighthouse Board, 1st District, Boston, Mass. F 7 f This view of Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse and the breakwater, taken at very low tide, shows some of the ledge rock at left center. Mostly silted up since the breakwater was built, it looks far less dangerous now than it did in the nineteenth century. F 8 f THE CAST IRON CAISSON LIGHTHOUSE The caisson. lighthouse. came. into. use. Massachusetts, and. 1914,. the. Lighthouse. following the. development. of. cast. iron. as. Service .built .a .total .of .47 .caisson .light- a .building .material . .The .United .States . houses .Spring . Point. Ledge. Light. Station. Lighthouse Service. realized. that. cast. iron. was .built .in .1896-97 . .Almost