Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine

submit to pinterest
Date added: January 19, 2025
Oil House, Keeper'S House, Southern Light Tower and Northern Light Tower South and East Sides (1989)

Do you have an update on the current status of this structure? Please tell us about it in the comments below.

Located on Arrowsic Island a short distance to the east of the Doubling Point Light Station, the Kennebec River Light Station contains the only extant range lights in Maine. It was one of the four complexes built in 1898 along the Kennebec River.

Navigational aids along the Kennebec River had, before 1898, been maintained by private companies whose ships utilized the waterway. In 1892 the Annual Report of the Light-House Board recognized the need for improved, Federally operated lights.

Three years later Congress appropriated $17,000 for a system of four light stations, one of which, the Kennebec River Light Station, was to contain a pair of range lights. This was put into service in 1898. The Coast Guard continues to utilize and maintain the complex making it one of the handful of manned stations in Maine.

Site Description

The singularly unique Kennebec River Light Station consists of a pair of widely spaced octagonal frame light towers linked by walkways to a large two-story keeper's house. A brick oil house stands behind this dwelling. Formerly known as the Doubling Point Range Light, the twin towers are aligned in such a way so as to indicate the navigable channel in the Kennebec River.

Erected in 1898, both towers have a tapered octagonal shaft that is covered by a polygonal roof. The exteriors are sheathed in wood shingles. Entrances sheltered by shed hoods are located on one elevation of each tower. A small square window is positioned below the roof on the south, river elevation, and a smaller opening is positioned in the north side. The southernmost of the two towers stands seventeen feet in height from its granite base to the middle of the lens whereas the rear light is four feet shorter. The connecting walkways are framed by simple slat handrails.

Standing to the north of the tower, and in closer proximity to the south tower, is the 1898 keeper's dwelling. Sheathed in clapboards, this L-shaped house rests on a stone foundation. Its front (east) elevation has an enclosed hip-roofed porch sheltering a door and one window and a broad gable framing the second-story window. The leg of the L projects from the house's southeast corner. Its south elevation has a pair of windows in the first story and two of unequal size above. A second enclosed porch is attached to the ell's west elevation and the recessed south wall of the main block. One small brick flue rises through the roof at the intersecting roof ridge.

Constructed in 1902, the brick oil house is a diminutive gable-roofed building. It has a centrally placed door and a narrow vent located in one gable end.

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Aerial view from southwest (1987)
Aerial view from southwest (1987)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine View from west (1987)
View from west (1987)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine View from east (1987)
View from east (1987)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Oil House, Keeper'S House, Southern Light Tower and Northern Light Tower South and East Sides (1989)
Oil House, Keeper'S House, Southern Light Tower and Northern Light Tower South and East Sides (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Southern Light Tower and Northern Light Tower South Sides (1989)
Southern Light Tower and Northern Light Tower South Sides (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Southern Light Tower Southwestern and West Sides (1989)
Southern Light Tower Southwestern and West Sides (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Southern Light Tower North Side (1989)
Southern Light Tower North Side (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Southern Light Tower, Upper Half of Interior (1989)
Southern Light Tower, Upper Half of Interior (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Northern Light Tower South Side (1989)
Northern Light Tower South Side (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Northern Light Tower South and East Sides (1989)
Northern Light Tower South and East Sides (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Keeper'S House West and South Sides (1989)
Keeper'S House West and South Sides (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Keeper'S House East and North Sides (1989)
Keeper'S House East and North Sides (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Oil House and Shed South and East Sides (1989)
Oil House and Shed South and East Sides (1989)

Kennebec River Lighthouse, Bath Maine Fog Signal Tower Northwest and Southwest Sides (1989)
Fog Signal Tower Northwest and Southwest Sides (1989)