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Managing Organization:
Acadia National Park
Telephone: 207-288-3338
Website: http://www.nps.gov/acad/
Contact Address Information:
P.O. Box 177
Bar Harbor
Maine, 04609, United States
Notes:
For some years beginning in 1887 Bear Island had a buoy depot, later transferred to Southwest Harbor. There was also a coaling (refueling) station on Bear Island. The light was replaced from 1981 to 1989 by an offshore buoy and the property was abandoned; it was restored by the Friends of Acadia in 1989 and relighted as a private aid to navigation. The lighthouse property is now leased by the National Park Service to a private individual.
Tower Height: 31
Height of Focal Plane: 100
Characteristic and Range: Flashing white light every five seconds.
Description of Tower: White cylindrical brick lighthouse with attached workroom.
This light is operational
Other Buildings?
1889 1.5 story wood keeper's house, 1905 stone oil house, boathouse, barn.
Earlier Towers?
1839: stone keeper's house with tower on top. 1853: brick tower at one end of dwelling.
Date Established: 1839
Date Present Tower Built: 1889
Date Deactivated: 1981-1989
Date Automated: 1989
Optics: 1858: Fifth order Fresnel lens; 1989: modern plastic optic.
Fog Signal: 1888: 1,000 pound fog bell and striking apparatus.
Current Use: Active private aid to navigation, private residence.
Open To Public? No.
Directions:
Tours of Baker Island, including the light station, are conducted by Acadia Park rangers in summer. These cruises provide a good view of Bear Island Light on the way out of Northeast Harbor. The tours on the Islesford Ferry leave the Northeast Harbor Town Dock May through mid-October. The trips are not handicapped accessible. Call (207) 276-3717 for more information. Sea Princess Naturalist Cruises out of Northeast Harbor also offers trips that pass Bear Island Light; call (207) 276-5352 for information. To reach the town dock in Northeast Harbor, take ME 3 to Mount Desert Island to ME 198 south to Northeast Harbor. As you enter the town turn left at Sea Street and drive to the town dock at the end, where there is free public parking.
Keepers: John G. Bowan (1838-1842?); Solomon L. Howes (1842-?); Levi Robinson (1850-?); Caleb Gould (1855-1869); William Fennelly (1869-1876); Stephen Smallidge (1876-1883); Alden H. Jordan (1883-1899); Lewis F. Sawyer (1899-1909); Earle Emery Benson ("Temporary Additional Keeper," 5/1/1929-5/1/1930); E.J. Turner (c. 1935), Andrew W. Kennedy (c. 1946), Terry Stanley (Coast Guard, c. 1959), Larry Conley (Coast Guard, 1965-1968), Steve Loiver (Coast Guard, c. 1980)
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