York, ME
Built in 1879, automated in 1987
41 feet tall and 88 feet above the ocean

The scene at Cape Neddick Lighthouse on the island called the "Nubble," near York Beach in Maine, is as pretty as a postcard. Its slightly offshore location lends an air of mystery, adding to its charm.

Jeremy's Lighthouse Guide #4

Connie Small, wife of Keeper Elson Small and author of the book The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife, says she and her husband enjoyed filling in for regular keepers at the Nubble. But they felt like fish in a fishbowl when they went about their business -- carefully watched by binocular-wielding tourists across the narrow channel at Sohier Park.

One early keeper, William Brooks, took advantage of the public’s desire to see the Nubble up-close by ferrying sightseers to the island for ten cents apiece. He soon lost his job, and later ran a hotel at York Beach called the Bay View.

The Nubble keepers used a bucket suspended on a line across the channel to transport supplies. One Coast Guard keeper in the 1960s actually put his child in the contraption to send him on his way to school each day. When the district commander saw a picture of the boy in the bucket in a Boston paper, arrangements were made for the child to board on the mainland during the week.

The scene here is far from static; weather and sea conditions provide an endless variety of moods. And be sure to visit near Christmas when the buildings are strung with sparkling lights.

For a detailed HISTORY
and more see Lighthouse.cc

Copyright 2004 by Jeremy D'Entremont, New England Lighthouses

Photos above from Jeremy D'Entremont.