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Two of Maine's historic lighthouses will be featured on the Emmy winning History Channel program "Save our History" that will debut with "American Lighthouses with a nationwide release this April 18th at 8PM.
The History Channel and Jupiter Entertainment who produced the program worked closely for months with the Wells (ME)-based American Lighthouse Foundation to produce this epic television event.
The program will feature Little River Light in Cutler, which was relit last October after having been dark for 26 years. Restoring the tower and relighting the light was a joint project of the non-profit American Lighthouse Foundation and the United States Coast Guard. The lighthouse was once listed as one of the ten most endangered historic properties in the state. The Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse in Rockland will be the only other Maine lighthouse featured in the program. At one time, plans called for the tearing down of the historic structure. It is now being restored by the Friends of Rockland Breakwater, which was founded by and is a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation.
The program will also focus on Portsmouth Light in Portsmouth, NH, also under the care of the American Lighthouse Foundation, where the first overt act of the Revolutionary War took place, and Boston Light, America's oldest light station and the only lighthouse in the nation still staffed by keepers.
Tim Harrison, president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, said they have not yet seen an advance copy of the program, so they have no idea what to expect, but hopes that the nationwide coverage will bring in some donations to help them with the 14 lighthouse restoration projects they are currently working on. "Our biggest expense currently is the $250,000 needed to restore the keeper's house at Little River Light which is on an island off the coast of Cutler. Other Maine restoration projects include Cape Elizabeth Light, Pemaquid Point Light, Halfway Rock Light and Boon Island Light", said Harrison.
The group is also sponsoring a nationwide conference this September that will develop a teacher's resource guide to teach lighthouse history to 5th and 6th graders nationwide.
Harrison said he is grateful for the History Channel's commitment to helping promote their efforts and draw public attention to the work that is being done by volunteers across the nation to save our historic lighthouses, but he said, "Time is running out for many lighthouses if more donations are not forthcoming soon".
As part of its effort to draw public attention to lighthouses, the History Channel is conducting a nationwide poster contest for grades K-6 in which it will be awarding twelve prizes to different students and teachers. In a written statement the History Channel stated that, "Save Our History-American Lighthouses" can be a platform for team teaching, for the earth science teacher, language arts teacher, and the art teacher to join forces with the social studies teacher on a fascinating subject. Students can study storms and currents, explore how lenses work, learn about maritime history and historic preservation or even design their own lighthouse. For more information on the poster, go to www.HistoryChannel.com/classroom
Harrison carried it one step further by saying, "More can be learned about early American history by studying lighthouses than from any other source".
Other lighthouses that will be featured on the program are Cape Hatteras Light, NC; Bodie Island, NC; Currituck Beach, NC; St. Helena Light, MI and St. George Reef Light, CA.
The American Lighthouses program will appear on the History Channel at 8PM EST on Thursday, April 18. If you would like to learn more about the American Lighthouse Foundation or join its efforts to save lighthouses you can visit their web site at www.lighthousefoundation.org or write to them at P.O. Box 889, Wells, Maine 04090.
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Caption 1
Maine's Little River Lighthouse
Date Entered into online database: March 22, 2002
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