West Quaddy Head Lighthouse

The Maine attraction

Throughout the years I have enjoyed finding and photographing many lighthouses. As we have visited in Maine, Canada, North and South Carolina and even Florida, I found a real selection and variety of lighthouses to tour.

On our last trip to Canada, we came home by a ferry from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, car and all, to Bar Harbor, Maine. I found that Maine offers something for everyone. It is a wonderful vacation spot for fishermen, boaters, beach lovers, hikers, mountain climbers, hunters, lighthouse lovers and of course shoppers who enjoy the antique shops. While close to Bar Harbor, visit Cadiallac Mountain in the National Park of Acadia. The view is wonderful.

Facts: Maine is a large state and bigger than most of the east coast states combined; it is divided into eight regions; there's approximately 4,000 miles of coast; there are 6,000 lakes, and millions of acres of forestland; I 95 can take you quickly all the way up and down the coast; and Highway US 1 is the scenic route.

Of course when you give me a list of all of the lighthouses and a map I am close to paradise. We did not go to all of the lighthouses in Maine, but most of them. Each one is unique and beautiful. There is so much history with each lighthouse and I can just imagine what it was like 200 years ago when the ships were finding their way along the coast. We must keep in mind they weren't built for tourism but as sentinels to protect those who were traveling by sea along a rocky coast. Early morning sunrises, and evening sunsets with a light house included are famous shots. Some lighthouses have museums in them, one had a post office, and others are just open to tour. I did see one that was a summer retreat inn for a family. That was neat and their view was fantastic.

We have been down many roads that say "Private," "no entering," "entering is prohibited by law," and even with a gate closed. I have been lucky and never been caught going down those beaten paths, but these are some of my best photos and just think, I might have never seen them.

My six favorite lighthouses in Maine are Portland Head, Cape Elizabeth Light, Owl's Head, Cape Neddick, Pemaquid Point and West Quoddy Head. Most of them you can get to by car and a few are better seen from a boat.

The Portland Head Light is American's first lighthouse, it was commissioned by American's first President, George Washington and was built in 1787 to guard the state's busiest harbor. I found it to be the most beautiful. It is the most often photographed of all lighthouses. I found the perfect spot to capture the beauty. The lighthouse is located on Shore Road and easy to get to by car. The tower was not open to the public, but there was a museum in the keeper's house. On the property there is a fog signal building, oil house and garage besides the lighthouse. All are in mint condition. It is now part of Fort William Park.

Lighthouses evoke the danger & romance of New England's coast ...

At many times of the year, the first manmade object on the continental United States to feel the touch of dawn is the red-and-white-striped tower of the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine, on the Bay of Fundy. If the day is not foggy, West Quoddy Head greets the dawn in a manner that I think of as typically New England in character: stoic, resilient, faithful, grounded in tradition.

People love the New England lighthouses for lots of reasons. Some of the reasons, says Deb Bridges, manager of the visitor center at West Quoddy Head, are a respect for history and for the stoic and isolated life of the lighthouse keeper and his family. Some people are captivated by the thundering stories of seafaring, storms at sea, the lost lives of mariners and fishermen. My husband, who goes tromping about in southern Rhode Island loaded with trout-fishing equipment, says he likes the sport because trout choose the most beautiful places to live. The same could be said of lighthouses. Miss Bridges, up in Lubec, says that the lighthouse visitor center’s welcome book showed names from every U.S. state and 20 other countries before the Fourth of July this year.