B A S S   H A R B O R   L I G H T H O U S E

Bass Harbor, Maine

Friday, October 8, 2004

Sight: #19

Location: Bass Harbor, Maine

• From Ellsworth follow Route 3 south onto Mt. Desert Island
• Once over the small bridge onto the island, bear right onto Route 102.
• Follow Route 102 for 13 miles through Somesville and Southwest Harbor.
• Bear left onto Route 102A. Follow 102A to the entrance of the Bass Harbor Light Station.

Hours: Open year-round from 9am-sunset. The house and tower are unaccessible.

Admission: Free!

Link: Official Website

Rating:

(5 max)

Upon lighthouse arrival I decide to read up on the seaside attraction first before kicking off my photo tour. Funny, supposedly this is the most photographed piece of real-estate in Maine and here I am clueless about it. I actually stumbled upon this historic sight, having earlier seen a small sign pointing to its location.

The information board is overflowing with interesting factoids. In a nutshell, the lighthouse was build in 1858 for a little under $5,000. Standing 26 feet off the ground and 56 feet above sea level, given its current optics and lighting configuration, it can be seen from as far away as 13 miles. In its hayday, Bass Harbor Lighthouse burned a whale oil lantern and rang a fog bell that had to be manually sounded. Wow, what a drag. Compared to today, the lighthouse then was rather dim, but then again, ships traveled slower back in those days so maybe it wasn't so bad.

All told, 22 men (called "wickies") have called the lighthouse their home. Present on-site and at the ready, all keepers provided the needed caring and feeding required by the seaside sentinel. Much to the whale's delight, today the lighthouse is fully automated. No more whale oil lamps, no more hand ringing of the bell. Modernization is a good thing but at the same time it's a little sad. No more can we conjure up real-time images of wickies on the watch, weathering storms and possible death in order to keep danger at bay for the hardy, yet vulnerable, sea travelers.