1826
President John Quincy Adams commissioned the building of a lighthouse on the eastern point of the Pemaquid Peninsula. Congress appropriated $4000 for the project.
1827
On June 29, Congress purchased several acres of land at Pemaquid Point for $90.00 from Samuel and Sarah Martin, descendants of the Angel Gabriel shipwreck of 1635.
1827
On June 29, Congress purchased several acres of land at Pemaquid Point for $90.00 from Samuel and Sarah Martin, descendants of the Angel Gabriel shipwreck of 1635.
1827
On November 29, the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse beamed its beacon for the first time. It was visible for two miles. Ten patent lamps with ten sixteen-inch Argand-Lewis parabolic reflectors utilized candles for its light source.
1835
Under the guidance of the first lighthouse keeper, Issac Dunham, the lighthouse was rebuilt because of poor workmanship by the first stonemason. Upon completion of this structure that remains today, Dunham wrote, “never a better tower or lantern built in this state.”
1837
The United States Lighthouse Service built the present-day keeper’s house.
1856
A fourth order Fresnel lens replaced the Argand-Lewis system that had transitioned to sperm whale oil as its light source. The “Fresnel” was constructed in France and cost $428.00. At first glance, it looks like a bee-hive of prisms about a yard tall, but its power is mighty, beaming a light that can be seen at least 14 nautical miles offshore.
1863
The use of sperm whale oil was halted because of rising costs. Liquid lard, which was cheap and plentiful, replaced the fuel source.
1868
Susie Lawler, daughter of lighthouse keeper Joseph Lawler and his wife Sophronia, was the only baby born in the keeper’s house at Pemaquid.
1896
The red brick oil house was built in front of the keeper’s house, thus providing a safe place to store the new source of fuel, kerosene. A tender (small boat) would launch from the supply ship and steer as close as possible to shore, then toss a line to the keeper who would pump about 88 gallons of fuel to restock the oil house.
1897
The brick bell house was built to hold a hand operated fog bell.
1898
An oil-burning steam engine that rang the new larger fog bell was installed.
1899
A white wooden tower was built adjacent to the brick bell house to hold the counterweights that functioned like a grandfather clock mechanism to automatically operate the fog bell. Keepers manually needed to wind these weights however, thus requiring the employment of two assistant lighthouse keepers during 1898-1899. The mechanism did not adequately warn ships, therefore the system ceased operation.
1929
Painter Edward Hopper painted Pemaquid Light, which is owned by the Portland Museum of Art and displayed periodically. Hopper enjoyed summers spent on the Maine coast. https://www.portlandmuseum.org/magazine/pemaquid
1934
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse became the first lighthouse in Maine to be electrified, thus negating the need for onsite lighthouse keepers. Grounds’ keepers were hired who lived off-site.
1928 – 1934
The last lighthouse keeper, Leroy Elwell, held the position for six years. He was awarded for saving three local teenagers from drowning in 1930.
1940
Bristol residents purchased the area from the US government for $1,639. They named the site Bristol’s Lighthouse Park, now known at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park. The US Coast Guard retained ownership of the lighthouse.
1985
On April 16, Pemaquid Point Lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
2000
The volunteer group, Friends of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, restored the lighthouse’s exterior with grants and patron donations. This restoration allowed visitors to enter the lighthouse and climb the tower for the first time.
2003
An image of the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse was placed on the flipside of the Maine state quarter. Maine voters selected a student’s drawing of the lighthouse and the Victory Chimes, the last three-masted schooner of the Windjammer Fleet, to honor the state’s historic and distinguished maritime industry.
2007 – 2010
Under the guidance of the Friends of Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, the lighthouse’s interior brick veneer and cast-iron staircase was restored with funds from Lowe’s, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and private donations through the the American Lighthouse Foundation.
2020
The US Coast Guard installed a 135 variable wattage LED light bulb in the Fresnel lens. Throughout the ages, the light’s fuel sources included candles, then sperm whale oil, followed by liquid lard, kerosene, incandescent light bulbs, a 1000-watt halogen bulb, and currently the LED bulb.
