Accessibility: 
Geographic coordinates: 43° 53' 32" N 69° 22' 29" W
Nearest town: Friendship. Located at the entrance to Muscongus Bay, about five miles south of Friendship.
Established: 1807. Present lighthouse built: 1855. Automated: 1930s.
Height of tower: 45 feet. Height of focal plane: 57 feet.
Earlier optic: Fourth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: 250 mm.
Characteristic: White flash every 6 seconds.
Trade was booming in the early 1800s in the vicinity of Friendship and the St. George River, and many vessels were wrecked on the treacherous rocks near Franklin Island. The station was authorized by Congress and President Thomas Jefferson in 1803, but bad weather and lack of building supplies delayed completion until 1807. The extant 45-foot brick lighthouse on the island’s northwest corner was erected in 1855. The tower was originally connected to the keeper’s house.
Coleman George Woodward grew up on Franklin Island and several other Maine lighthouse stations, where his father, George E. Woodward, was keeper. He later recalled his time on Franklin Island in the 1920s: “On Franklin Island you didn’t send messages back and forth. There was no telephone. If you needed assistance, you were to fly the American flag upside down from the top of the tower. . . . Each keeper had twenty-eight vacation days; I would do their job while they were on vacation. I just loved the island life.”
All the buildings except the lighthouse tower and an 1895 oil house have been destroyed. The lighthouse is now cared for by a group called Franklin Light Preservation (P.O. Box 481, New Harbor, ME 04554) under an agreement with the Coast Guard. The island is part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, no regular public cruises pass close to here, so you’ll have to charter a cruise or flight to get a good view. You might get a very distant view from the fall coastal cruise offered by Hardy Boat Cruises in New Harbor (1-800-2-PUFFIN, www.hardyboat.com).
Fascinating Fact 
This is Maine’s third oldest light station.
