Blue Hill Bay (Eggemoggin) Lighthouse
Brooklin, Maine
Built in 1857
Location:
The lighthouse is located on Green Island, which is on the western side of Mount Desert Island. Privately owned.
Latitude: 44° 14' 56" N
Longitude: 68° 29' 55" W
Historic Stories:
Green Island needed a lighthouse with the increasing lumber trade from Ellsworth.
Lobstering Near |
Mariners had also requested a beacon to help guide them around Blue Hill Bay. |
Blue Hill Bay Lighthouse, sometimes referred to as Eggemoggin Light or Sand Island Light, was built in 1857 on this low-lying strip of land. A rather fancy keeper’s quarters with an attached barn, a boathouse, outhouse, oil house, and a huge rain-collecting cistern for fresh water were also constructed by the beacon. As the island was rocky with little vegetation, keepers would use neighboring islands to graze sheep and cows during the warm months.
In the 1890s, the five children of Keeper Roscoe Lopaus were schooled by a teacher who also boarded on the island.
Keeper Roscoe Chandler had two of his children, when they became young teenagers, attend his farm in nearby Monroe, and, would walk their cow from Monroe to the light station during low tide. They would stop at a local farm along the way and swap some of the cow’s milk for lodging and a meal. While tending to the lighthouse, Chandler developed a bad case of ulcers and required lots of fresh milk. Two cows were later purchased and brought to nearby Flye Island to provide milk for the keeper and his family. The cows could be walked between the two islands during low tide. Sometimes during thunderstorms, the bovines would go into the waters from Flye Island and swim towards the lighthouse station. Usually one of the family members had to go out in their boat to steer the animals back to the island to graze.
One foggy day, Keeper Chandler heard four blows on a whistle nearby, which indicated a vessel in trouble. Finding the ship in the fog, it turned out to be a skipper who had made a turn too soon and was not in imminent danger, but simply lost. Chandler shouted directions to the ship and the vessel was on its way
The side-wheeler J. T. Morse was a welcome sight at the Blue Hill Bay Lighthouse, as it sometimes provided help in dropping off supplies for the keepers.
There were no phones on the island in the 1920s, so when the keeper was needed on shore, a designated local from the mainland would hang a black suit or dress outside their home as a signal.
The lighthouse was discontinued in 1933, and is a private residence. Today a solar powered skeletal tower operates nearby.
Places to Visit Nearby:
The Blue Hill Peninsula encompasses the quiet rural villages and towns of Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine, Penobscot, Sedgwick, and Surry along Maine's jagged coastline. Most of those who live here either work on the water, are involved in construction, or are skilled craftspeople and artists.
The Blue Hill Heritage Trust provides a multitude of hiking trails through the towns mentioned above, for those who need to disconnect and enjoy the natural beauty of this region. One of these trails, in Brooklin, named as the Hundred Acre Wood Trail, provides a 1.7-mile loop through wooded scenery.
Brooklin is a tiny remote village with one general store and great friendly people. You can go to Naskeag Point dock and wait for the lobster boats to come in and possibly purchase fresh lobsters right off their boats around early afternoon.
In Brooklin, visitors may even be able to catch a ride out to the lighthouse with one of the lobstermen who go out each day (I did). Contact first through the Blue Hill Peninsula Chamber of Commerce or the general store, and request permission to see if anyone would be willing to take you out. Understand their day begins at dawn and the work is very strenuous.
| If allowed, follow any instructions and always give a decent tip for these hard working individuals. |  |
There is also a public (free) beach at the point to relax at.
Directions to Naskeag Boat Dock:
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This is a quiet remote fishing community and there is only one place to launch or catch a boat coming in. From US Route 1 in Orland, take Route 15, to Route 172, then Route 175 towards the town of Brooklin. If you're heading north from Deer Isle, pick up Route 175 to Brooklin.
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When you come upon the one general store in this tiny village, take the Naskeag Point Road south for two miles to the end, where you'll come to Naskeag Point.
Local Boat Tour
Isle au Haut Boat Company
They make daily mail boat trips to the island of Isle au Haut in the summer season. They also provide puffin cruises to Seal Island.
They offer a special cruise during Maine's lighthouse weekend in September to see ten lighthouses, six on Saturday, and four on Sunday which includes Hockamock Head Light (Swan's Island), Great Duck Island Light, Bass Harbor Head Light, and Blue Hill Bay (Eggemoggin) Light.
Isle au Haut Boat Services
P.O. Box 709
Stonington, ME 04681
Tel. (207) 367-5193
www.isleauhaut.com
themailboat@isleauhaut.com
Scenic Flights
Scenic Flights of Acadia
Has special lighthouse cruises for visitors to have a unique aerial view of 6 beacons in the Acadia region, along with the landscape of Mount Desert Island of Acadia.
200 Main Street (ticket office)
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609
Phone: (207) 667-6527
1044 Bar Harbor Road | Route 3
Trenton, Maine 04605
Email: info@mainecoastalflight.com
My 300-page book (with over 360 images), Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Northern New England: New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, published by Schiffer Publishing, provides human interest stories from each of the 76 lighthouses, along with plenty of coastal attractions and tours near each beacon, and contact info to plan your special trips. Look inside! |
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