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Geographic coordinates: 43° 39' 07" N 70° 13' 26" W
Nearest city: South Portland. Located on the west side of the main shipping channel from the south into Portland Harbor.
Established: 1897. Present lighthouse built: 1897.
Height of tower: 54 feet. Height of focal plane: 54 feet.
Earlier optic: Fifth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: 300 mm.
Characteristic: White flash every 6 seconds, two red sectors.
Fog signal: One blast every 10 seconds.
Unlike many sparkplug-style lighthouses of its period, the tower here is built of brick rather than cast-iron. The lighthouse has a cistern in the basement, topped by four levels, including two floors of living quarters.
Keepers had to be creative in their means of exercise. Somebody figured that it took fifty-six jogs around the tower’s main deck to make one mile. Once, a keeper was running laps and forgot to close a trap door. He slipped through the opening and only a ladder prevented him from falling 17 feet to a rock ledge and the waves below.
In 1951, a 900-foot breakwater was constructed with 50,000 tons of granite, joining the lighthouse to the mainland. In 1998, under the Maine Lights Program, the lighthouse was transferred to the Spring Point Ledge Light Trust. In 2004, a six-year effort by the trust culminated in the replacement of the badly deteriorated iron canopy over the structure’s lower gallery.
There’s free parking nearby, and the public may walk out on the breakwater to the lighthouse. From I-295 North, take exit 6A (Forest Avenue South). Turn right onto State Street. Follow State Street (Route 77) through Portland and over the Casco Bay Bridge to South Portland. The bridge feeds traffic directly onto Broadway. Go straight ahead off the bridge. Stay on Broadway until you reach the stop sign in front of the Spring Point Marina. Turn right on Pickett Street, then left on Fort Road. Follow Fort Road through the Southern Maine Community College campus until it ends at the water. The lighthouse will be on your right.
SIDE TRIP: South Portland Historical Society Museum
The South Portland Historical Society operates a small but fascinating museum, with a gift shop, adjacent to Bug Light Park. The museum’s exhibits tell the story of the shipyards that thrived here during World War II. There are also displays on the local lighthouses and the sardine-canning industry.
To reach the museum, follow the directions for Spring Point Ledge Light. When you reach the stop sign in front of the Spring Point Marina, turn left. Turn right onto Madison Street and follow to Bug Light Park. The museum will be on your left, across from the park.
South Portland Historical Society Museum
55 Bug Light Park
South Portland, ME 04106
Phone: 207-767-7299
The lighthouse is open weekend days, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., from mid-June to early September. Climbing of narrow stairs and through hatches is required. Please note that children less than 55 inches in height are not permitted inside the lighthouse. Call 207-699-2676 or visit www.springpointlight.org online to check for the latest schedule. You can get a good view from the water aboard some of the trips offered by Lucky Catch Cruises (207-761-0941, www.luckycatch.com), Portland Discovery (207-774-6498, www.portlanddiscovery.com) and Casco Bay Lines (207-774-7871, www.cascobaylines.com). Also, the narrated 65-minute tour offered by Downeast Duck Adventures (207-774-DUCK, www.downeastducktours.com) includes the lighthouse. New England Lighthouse Tours (603-431-9155, www.newenglandlighthousetours.com), based in Portsmouth, NH, offers van trips to this lighthouse and others.
Fascinating Fact 
One of this light’s best-known keepers was Aaron Augustus “Gus” Wilson, who was in charge from 1918 to 1934. Wilson gained fame as one of New England’s most accomplished carvers of wooden bird decoys. One of Wilson’s decoys fetched $195,500 at a 2005 auction.
