Wood Island Light

Wood Island Light
Wood Island Light on May 12th, 2017
Map
LocationBiddeford, Maine
Coordinates43°27′24.7″N 70°19′44.6″W / 43.456861°N 70.329056°W / 43.456861; -70.329056
Tower
Constructed1808
FoundationNatural Emplaced
ConstructionGranite rubble
Automated1986
Height47 feet (14 m)
Shapeconical
MarkingsWhite with black lantern
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place Edit this on Wikidata
Fog signalHorn: 2 every 30 seconds
Light
First lit1858 (current tower)
Focal height71 feet (22 m)
Lens4th order Fresnel lens (original), VLB-44 (current)
RangeWhite: 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi), green: 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi)
CharacteristicAlternating white and green lights every 10 seconds
Wood Island Light Station
Nearest cityBiddeford, Maine
Area5 acres (2.0 ha)
Built1808
ArchitectUS Army Corps of Engineers
MPSLight Stations of Maine MPS
NRHP reference No.87002274[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 21, 1988

Wood Island Light is an active lighthouse on the eastern edge of Wood Island in Saco Bay, on the southern coast of Maine. The light is just outside the entrance to Biddeford Pool and the end of the Saco River. The lighthouse is a 47-foot (14 m) conical white tower of granite rubble. The light itself sits 71 feet (22 m) above mean high water. Its automated beacon alternates between green and white every 10 seconds.[2][3][4][5]

Wood Island Light is Maine's second-oldest lighthouse (after Portland Head Light) and the nation's eleventh-oldest.[4] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Wood Island Light Station on January 21, 1988, reference number 87002274.[1]

The United States Coast Guard maintains the active beacon of the lighthouse, while The Friends of Wood Island Light, a non-profit organization, has assisted the Coast Guard by maintaining and restoring parts of the lighthouse and keepers dwellings.[6]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
  3. ^ Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 2.
  4. ^ a b Rowlett, Russ (August 6, 2009). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southern Maine". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  5. ^ Trapani, Bob. "A New Bright Shine at Wood Island Lighthouse". American Lighthouse Foundation. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  6. ^ "Wood Island Lighthouse". LighthouseFriends. Retrieved February 8, 2018.