This old press photo showing the Socony Mobil Oil Company’s tanker the S/S Mobilgas as it passed by the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse in New Castle, New Hampshire recently came into our possession. The caption with the photo stated that it was the first visit the ship had made to Portsmouth, New Hampshire with a cargo of refined petroleum products and that it was the largest ship to ever sail into Portsmouth.

Unfortunately, the photograph was not dated; however as can be seen in the photo, the image would date back to the time when the curtains were still used in the lantern room of the lighthouse. By the time Elson Small arrived here in 1946 the curtains were no longer in use and had been replaced by a lens cover. The fog bell, shown here attached to the tower, was removed in the 1970s and is now on display in front of the Coast Guard station in New Castle, NH at the Portsmouth Harbor Coast Guard Station.