Accessibility: 
Geographic coordinates: 44° 14' 56" N 68° 29' 55" W
Nearest town: Brooklin. Located on Green Island in Blue Hill Bay.
Established: 1857. Present lighthouse built: 1857. Automated: 1933.
Earlier optic: Fourth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: none.
Green Island—about three-quarters of an acre at high tide and about three times that size at low tide—is one of a group of four islands called the Fly, or Flye, Islands after an early owner. In the mid-nineteenth century, the town of Ellsworth on Blue Hill Bay was said to be the second busiest lumber port in the world, making a lighthouse in the vicinity a necessity. The brick lighthouse was connected by a passageway to a colonial cape keeper’s house.
Keepers augmented their food supplies by fishing and hunting in the area. On a summer camping trip in the 1920s, keeper Roscoe Chandler and his family caught almost 300 pounds of cod, hake, and cusk nearby. Duck and lobster were also staples.
Fascinating Fact 
Lacking a telephone, the families at Green Island devised unique modes of communication. In the 1920s, when the keeper was needed on shore, a woman across on the mainland would hang a black suit outside her house as a signal.
The lighthouse was discontinued in 1933. It was replaced by a light on a skeleton tower. An automatic light, now solar powered, remains in use. The island was sold into private ownership. In 1976, it was purchased by Wilbur and Edith Trapp of New Jersey. The Trapps had the house and other buildings beautifully restored (even the outhouse is still standing). In 1995, the lighthouse was again sold.
The best views of the lighthouse are from the water; unfortunately, no regularly scheduled public cruises pass nearby. You can also arrange a custom trip with Sea Venture Custom Boat Tours (207-288-3355, www.svboattours.com) in Bar Harbor to see this and other area lighthouses. It is possible to walk to the island at low tide from Flye Point in Brooklin, but this isn’t recommended; it’s a strenuous walk, and some of the route may be underwater even at low tide.
