Lighthouse Explorer Database ... Browns Head Light

01/16/05 9:26 PM

1-800-758-1444

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Name: Browns Head Light

Nearest Town or City:
Vinalhaven, Maine, United States

Location: Northwest end of Vinalhaven Island, Penobscot Bay.

Click to enlarge: 67Kb   
Photo: Jeremy D'Entremont

Managing Organization:
Town of Vinalhaven

Contact Address Information:
North Main Street
Vinalhaven
Maine, 04863, United States

Notes:
The lighthouse station is the residence of the Vinalhaven Town Manager.

Tower Height: 20

Height of Focal Plane: 39

Characteristic and Range: Fixed white with two red sectors, white visible for 14 nautical miles, red for 11.

Description of Tower: White cylindrical brick tower attached to keeper's house.

This light is operational

Other Buildings?
1857 1.5 story wood keeper's cottage, 1903 oil house.

Earlier Towers?
1832: 20 foot stone tower.

Date Established: 1832

Date Present Tower Built: 1857

Date Automated: 1987

Optics: 1857: Fifth order Fresnel lens; 1902: Fourth order Fresnel lens (still in use).

Fog Signal: 1857: Fog bell with striking mechanism in bell tower; now automated horn with one blast every 10 seconds.

Current Use: Active aid to navigation, residence of town manager.

Open To Public? Grounds only

Directions:
Vinalhaven is accessible via a car/passenger ferry from Rockland. Call (207) 596-2203 for information. After leaving the ferry in Vinalhaven, turn left, then turn right up High Street. Follow this road for 6.1 miles to a beautiful view toward the Camden Hills. Then take the second left, Crockett River Road, marked by mailboxes. Take the second right up a small hill. From here you'll have a view of the lighthouse and the Fox Islands Thorofare. Some sightseeing cruises in the area may pass Browns Head Light, including some of the special lighthouse cruises offered on the Lively Lady II out of Camden in conjunction with the Elms Bed and Breakfast. Call (800) 755-ELMS or (207) 236-6520 for details.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Keepers: David Wooster (1832-1841); John Calderwood (1841-1843); Howland Dyer (1843-1864); William Thomas (1864-1865); Peleg Thomas (1865-1867); Benjamin E. Burgess (1867-1905); Charles Burgess (1905-1910); Alonzo Morong (?); Ernest V. Talbot (c. 1935); Merrill Poor (Coast Guard, 1945-1955); John Baxter (c. 1973), (Charles Lawson (Coast Guard, c. 1970s)