Accessibility: 
Geographic coordinates: 44° 09' 57" N 69° 03' 38" W
Nearest town: Rockport. Located at the east side of the entrance to Rockport Harbor, Penobscot Bay.
Established: 1850. Present lighthouse built: 1875. Deactivated: 1934.
Earlier optic: Fourth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: none.
Rockport Harbor was a center for shipbuilding and the export of lime in the mid-1800s. Established in 1850, the first lighthouse consisted of a lantern mounted on the roof of the keeper’s house. The light was discontinued in 1859, but it was reactivated and a new lighthouse tower was built in 1875 for $9,000. The station consists of a square brick tower attached to the original T-shaped keeper’s house.
Foster Reed was the keeper from 1925 to 1933. His granddaughter Barbara frequently spent weekends and vacations on the island, according to an article by Diane Roesing O’Brien in Lighthouse Digest. “Barbara never remembers being lonely on the island,” wrote Roesing. “There wasn’t a tree on the island in her childhood, and she wandered the beach, looking for things or digging clams.”
In 1934, the lighthouse was replaced by an automatic light on nearby Lowell Rock. The property has been privately owned since then. It can be seen distantly (more than a mile) from Rockport Marine Park. To reach the park from Route 1 North, turn right off Route 1 at a traffic light in Rockport (Route 90 will be on your left). Drive .25 miles and then turn left at a T intersection. The park is less than .25 miles away on the right.
The lighthouse is best viewed from the water. Cruises leaving Camden aboard the Betselma (207-236-4446) offer a good view. You can also charter a trip with Rockport Charters (207-691-1066, www.rockportcharters.com).
Fascinating Fact 
Indian Island was so named because local Native Americans took refuge there during the French and Indian War.
