Year first lit 1847 (current tower) Construction Granite blocks Opened 1830 Added to NRHP 14 March 1988 Year first constructed 1830 | Foundation Surface rock Tower shape Conical Tower Automated 1977 | |
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Markings / pattern Natural granite, black lantern Similar Great Duck Island Light Station, Eagle Island Light, Franklin Island Light, Prospect Harbor Point Light, Baker Island Light | ||
Mount Desert Light is a lighthouse on Mount Desert Rock, a small island about 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi) south of Mount Desert Island, in the US state of Maine. The light station was established in 1830; the current lighthouse was built in 1847. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Mount Desert Light Station in 1988.
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HistoryEdit
The conical granite structure was one of a series of lighthouses in Maine designed by noted architect Alexander Parris. A bell tower and fog bell were added in 1858, as was a new lantern with a 3rd order Fresnel lens. The bell was replaced by a steam-powered whistle in 1889. The present keeper's house was built in 1892. The station was electrified in 1931 and automated in 1977, around which time the lantern was removed and the lens was replaced aero-beacon. In 1985 a replica of the lantern was installed, and c. 1995 the aero-beacon was replaced with a VRB-25 lighthouse system.
The station was transferred in 1998 to the College of the Atlantic as part of the Maine Lights program. It is used as an ecology research station, primarily known for work on finback and humpback whales.
The station is both farther offshore and more exposed than any other lighthouse on the east coast. It sustained serious damage in Hurricane Daisy (1962) and Hurricane Bill (2009). In August 2009, the boathouse was washed away, two walls of the generator building were ripped apart, and all the furniture and equipment on the first floor of the lightkeeper's house were ruined when it flooded almost to the ceiling. The college research station subsequently was closed until August 2010.