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Geographic coordinates: 44° 16' 56" N 68° 56' 34" W
Nearest town: Islesboro. Located on the west side of the entrance to Gilkey Harbor at the southwest end of Islesboro Island, Penobscot Bay.
Established: 1851. Present lighthouse built: 1874. Deactivated: 1934. Relighted: 1987.
Height of tower: 39 feet. Height of focal plane: 39 feet.
Earlier optic: Fifth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: 250 mm.
Characteristic: Green flash every 4 seconds.
Islesboro is a 10-mile-long, narrow island in upper Penobscot Bay. The largest commercial shipping fleet in the bay was based at the island in the nineteenth century. A light station, with a 28-foot-tall tower was established in 1851 to help mariners entering Islesboro’s Gilkey Harbor.
The extant lighthouse is a square brick tower attached by a covered walkway to the keeper’s house. The tower originally had a fifth-order Fresnel lens. A boathouse was built in 1886, and an oil house was added in 1906.
SIDE TRIP: Penobscot Marine Museum
The exhibits at Maine’s oldest maritime museum, located right along Route 1 in the old seafaring town of Searsport, focus on the history and industry of Penobscot Bay in the 1800s. The museum is also known for its collection of fine marine art, featuring one of the largest collections of Thomas and James Buttersworth paintings. The facility is spread through a series of historic buildings, including one that has been set up to resemble a typical sea captain’s home. There’s also an extensive museum store.
Searsport is also known to many as the antiques capital of Maine, with numerous shops and flea markets.
Penobscot Marine Museum
5 Church Street, P.O. Box 498
Searsport, ME 04974
Phone: 207-548-2529
Web site: www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org.
Francis Grindle sold the land for the station to the government and later became keeper in 1853. Grindle had spent years at sea and achieved the title of master mariner.
Keeper James E. Hall, who had been an assistant keeper under William Grant at Matinicus Rock, was killed in a rock-blasting accident at Grindle Point in 1916.
In 1934, the light was deactivated and replaced by a nearby light on a skeleton tower. The lighthouse and grounds became the property of the town of Islesboro. The keeper’s house was converted into the Sailor’s Memorial Museum, which opened in 1938. The people of Islesboro convinced the Coast Guard to reactivate the lighthouse in 1987. A solar-powered optic was installed with a flashing green light, and the skeleton tower was removed.
The Sailor’s Memorial Museum is open in summer; for information, you can call the Islesboro town offices at 207-734-2253. The ferry (207-734-6935, www.maine.gov/mdot/msfs/) from Lincolnville Beach docks right next to the lighthouse, so there’s no need to bring your car if lighthouse viewing is your main goal. The ferry terminal is on Route 1 in Lincolnville.
Fascinating Fact 
Islesboro was once the haunt of wealthy people like J. P. Morgan. Today, actors John Travolta and Kirstie Alley are among those who live part-time here.
