NRHP Reference # 09000594 Added to NRHP 5 August 2009 | Area 530 m² | |
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Similar Saint Croix River Light, Narraguagus Light, Crabtree Ledge Light, Eagle Island Light, Great Duck Island Light Station | ||
The Fiddler's Reach Fog Signal is a fog signal station located on the Kennebec River in Arrowsic, Maine, in Sagadahoc County. It is about 1,100 feet (340 m) SW of the front light of the Doubling Point Range Lights, and about 2,000 feet (610 m) east of Doubling Point Light. The pyramidal bell structure was built in 1914, two years after a large steamship, the Ransom B. Fuller, ran aground in the fog on this section of the river.
History
The signal was rung to assist ships navigating the treacherous S-bend section of the river known as Fiddler Reach. It was a bell from 1914 until the late sixties and then a horn until it was discontinued in 1982. The signal, while not part of the Kennebec River Light Station, was tended by its station keeper. He reached it along a footpath that included a boardwalk and two wooden bridges. While it was a bell, it was rung by means of a clockwork counter weight system that had to be rewound every 4 hours. Bell signals were distinguished by the number of strokes and length of time between them. This signal was two strokes every twenty seconds.
The structure eventually fell into disrepair. The original bell was removed by the Coast Guard in 1972 and is now displayed on the campus of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.
It was restored by volunteer effort of the "Range Light Keepers", a self-described "group of interested local Maine citizens and visitors".
A replacement bell has been obtained and kept at the Arrowsic Town Hall.Until 2016 when the bell was installed on the tower's exterior bell arm
The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on August 5, 2009 and the listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of August 14, 2009.