Accessibility: 
Geographic coordinates: 44° 39' 03" N 67° 11' 32" W
Nearest town: Cutler. Located on Little River Island at the entrance to Cutler Harbor.
Established: 1847. Present lighthouse built: 1876. Deactivated: 1975. Relighted: 2001.
Height of tower: 41 feet. Height of focal plane: 56 feet.
Previous optic: Fifth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: VRB-25.
Characteristic: White flash every 6 seconds.
Fog signal: One blast every 10 seconds.
As trade, shipbuilding, and the fishing industry grew in Cutler Harbor, Little River Light was established in 1847 at the harbor’s entrance. A stone dwelling was attached to the original stone lighthouse tower. In 1876, the extant cast-iron lighthouse was built. The old dwelling remained standing, but the top part of the old attached tower was removed. The extant dwelling was built in 1888.
Willie Corbett was keeper from 1921 to 1939. The Corbetts kept a cow, pigs, and chickens on the island. Keeper Corbett was an excellent fiddler and sometimes left the island on Saturday nights to play at dances at the lifesaving station at Cross Island down the coast.
The lighthouse was replaced by an automatic light on a nearby skeleton tower in 1975, and the property rapidly deteriorated. The station was licensed in early 2000 to the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF). A chapter of ALF, Friends of Little River Lighthouse (207-259-3833, www.littleriverlight.org), was formed to care for the property.
During the summer of 2000, the wooden walkway from the boathouse to the lighthouse was completely rebuilt by the Coast Guard, with financial help from ALF. On October 2, 2001, after the lighthouse was restored, it was relighted as an aid to navigation. In 2002, ownership of the island was transferred to the American Lighthouse Foundation under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.
Fascinating Fact 
Cutler Harbor is the last protected harbor on the Maine coast before Canada.
The keeper’s house has been restored, and overnight stays are available in summer. Call 207-259-3833 for more information and reservations. Boat transportation is provided, but you must bring your own food, towels and linens, and toiletries.
Little River Light can be viewed from Capt. Andrew Patterson’s excellent nature cruises (207-259-4484, www.boldcoast.com) out of Cutler. A fairly distant view from the mainland is available from the hiking trail at Western Head, a two-mile loop that begins at the end of Destiny Bay Road in Cutler.
