SPRING POINT LIGHTHOUSE

By the 1990s as more and more lighthouses became automated, the Coast Guard began turning them over to non-profit organizations. In many cases, the non-profits inherited the structure and the Coast Guard continued to operate the light.

Since then major renovations and repairs have been made to this national treasure that attracts hundreds of visitors for outside viewing and scheduled tours of the interior. Its light continues to warn mariners of the ledge. Here, the light is seen through one Fort Preble's gunports. The museum lies with the walls of the old fort.

Spring Point Ledge Light was constructed in 1897 to mark a hazardous ledge just off the main Portland Harbor ship channel. The penciled in arrow points to the location of the ledge. Prior to the construction of the light, the ledge was the cause of many shipwrecks. The Portland ship channel leads from the sea (lower right of image), passes Spring Point Ledge and then turns left into the harbor. The chart shows what mariners operating in fog or darkness were up against before the lighthouse and its foghorn were in place.

2 This old aerial photo shows Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse prior to the construction of the jetty. It is constructed of inch and a quarter cast iron plates. When automobiles came along, structures of this shape were dubbed "sparkplug" lights.

In 1950 a jetty was extended from the shore to Spring Point Ledges to protect Portland Harbor from storm waves. In the photo, the jetty has not yet been joined to the lighthouse base.

The jetty comes ashore a few steps from the museum door step. Across the bay lies Fort Gorges. Along with Fort Preble it was part of the Portland Harbor coastal defense system.