Ram Island Light is a
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
located just offshore of
Ram Island, marking the eastern entrance to
Boothbay Harbor
Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Bayville, Sprucewold, and West Boothbay Harbor. During summer months, the entire Boothbay Harbor regio ...
, Maine, and the west side of the mouth of the
Damariscotta River. It was built in 1883 and automated in 1965.
It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places as Ram Island Light Station on January 21, 1988.
Description and history
Ram Island is part of a group of islands along the eastern edge of Boothbay, extending roughly southward from Ocean Point,
the southernmost mainland point of the town of
Boothbay, at the tip of the Linekin Neck peninsula. The island is separated by a narrow channel from
Fisherman's Island, a long and narrow north-south island.
[Greene, pp. 20-21] Ram Island Light is located offshore, about north of Ram Island. The tower consists of an
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
granite base, from which the main brick tower rises to a polygonal lantern house. The lantern house is surrounded by an iron walkway and railing, and is capped by a ventilator. It now houses a modern light fixture. The tower was originally connected to the island by an elevated walkway. On the island stand the keeper's house, and a fuel house, both wood frame structures, and a small brick oil house.
[ with ]
By the late 19th century, Boothbay Harbor had become a major commercial and shipbuilding center of
Mid Coast
The Midcoast is a region of Maine that includes the coastal counties of Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Sagadahoc, and the northern coastal portion of Cumberland counties. Some of the towns are:
* Alna
* Arrowsic
*Bath
* Belfast
* Boothbay
*Boothba ...
Maine, with a growing tourist trade and scheduled steamer service from cities further south. This station was established in 1883 to mark the easternmost entrance to the harbor area, and the western approach to the Damariscotta River. The light was automated in 1965.
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See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln County, Maine
References
Sources
*
External links
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{{authority control
Lighthouses completed in 1883
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Lighthouses in Lincoln County, Maine
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Lincoln County, Maine
Boothbay Harbor, Maine