Whaleback Light Station, Kittery Point Maine
- Categories:
- Maine
- Lighthouse
Established in 1829 and completely rebuilt in 1872, the Whaleback Light Station occupies a shallow rock ledge at the outer entrance to Portsmouth Harbor.
Whaleback light was the second of two lights built to guide vessels along the Piscataqua River. Its location at the outer entrance of the harbor served as a beacon between the Isles of Shoals light off New Hampshire and the inner harbor light that had been established in 1789. During the nineteenth century, Whaleback light was classified as a secondary sea-coast light, an indication of its significance to the proximity of major shipping lanes and the great volume of traffic into and out of the harbors at Portsmouth and Kittery. It was automated in 1963.
Site Description
Rising out of a shallow rock outcropping some fifty-nine feet above the mean high water level, the Whaleback Light Station consists of a conical ashlar granite tower abutting a rectangular brick fog signal building. Completed in 1872, this remarkably intact structure houses within its granite walls the former keeper's quarters and storage facilities. It features a vertical row of three windows and a door on its north face. A striking molded granite deck caps the tower shaft and supports an iron walkway with railing. The octagonal lantern is covered by a domed roof surmounted by a spherical ventilator.
