Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse
R2D2s
Spring Point Ledge Light now has two electronically-activated fiberglass fog signals controlled by an automatic fog detector which activates the fog horn when visibility drops to approximately one-half mile. This system works in both daylight and darkness and is effective in snow and rain as well as in fog. Because of their cylindrical shape, the electronic fog signals are jokingly called "R2D2s."
Water Cisterns
The most remarkable features of the basement are two brick-lined cisterns embedded in the basement floor. These cisterns held the only water supply for the lighthouse. Water was collected in a gutter around the circumference of the roof of the main gallery and fed into cast iron pipes that drained the water into ceramic pipes leading to the cisterns. Water from the cisterns was then retrieved by a handpump next to the sink in the galley.
Heat Vent to Head Keeper's Quarters
Above the coal stove was a vent that allowed heat from the stove to enter the head keepers' quarters above, but that vent was later sealed off and the head keepers' quarters provided with its own coal stove.
Generator/Compressor Pad
The center of the basement floor holds a cement pad that probably held either a compressor or a small generator. The actual use is uncertain, though the Trust is attempting to ascertain the exact purpose of the pad.
Plastic Fresnel Lens
The lantern room originally housed the Fresnel lens, mounted on its bearings at the top of a pedestal, alongside of which sat the lens clockwork. The room was ventilated via small circular vents spaced along the lower wall, which drew air in and exhausted it through the ball vent on top of the lantern room roof.Today, the lantern room holds only the light bulb carousel beneath the Lexan plastic Fresnel lens, mounted on a pedestal in the center of the small room.
Access to the Top Gallery
A small crawl-through clamshell hatch sealed with cast iron doors led out onto the top gallery. This enabled the keepers to clean the salt accumulation from the exterior windows, along with any soot deposited there from the tall chimney through which the coal stoves' exhaust was vented.
Volunteer or Partner with Us
Volunteers are a critical part of the Trust's success in maintaining and preserving the lighthouse. Opening the lighthouse for tours raises all the money needed to sustain the Trust, operate the lighthouse and gift shop and do routine maintenance and repairs. Like all non-profits, we depend on support from the community we serve to further our mission. We are always looking for opportunities to establish partnerships with other non-profits and businesses that are mutually beneficial and help in maintaining the lighthouse for years to come. [Click here to learn more](https://springpointledgelight.org/support/)
Battery Banks
These two banks of batteries are charged by the solar panels that were installed nearby on the breakwater in August 2010. These batteries can meet the electrical needs of the entire lighthouse.
Modern Day Use
Today, the watch room houses the electronic circuitry for the lantern and the electro-acoustic fog signal. The sensor for the fog signal is mounted in the former window and the small cabinet beneath the window is no longer there.
Windows
Another marked difference between the head keepers' quarters is the lack of windows: the assistant keeper's quarters used portholes similar to those in a ship.
Windows
There were three small windows in the cylinder, but they have been sealed in recent years.
Fog Bell
In Maine, where fog is a very common occurrence during the winter, keeping the fog bell ringing was just as important as keeping the lamp lit. During periods of heavy fog, the light was often useless and mariners relied on fog signals to navigate and avoid each other.Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse was served by a 800-pound fog bell cast in Boston the year before the lighthouse was constructed and which was purchased for $180. The bell was suspended outboard of the railing of the upper gallery on the lighthouse's east side.At Spring Point, the bell was struck two times every twelve seconds. Spring Point's fairly rapid interval probably meant that the Stevens apparatus could go almost a full day between windings. The apparatus was set up in the watch oom with a series of levers and pivots extending through the wall to position the striker (sledgehammer) to hit the bell with enough force to bounce back into the cocked position. There was no spring cocking system. The 800-pound bell was strong enough to withstand such strikes.
The View
And lastly, how about that view?!
Lens Room View
Even on tours, the Lantern/Lens Room is not open to the public so enjoy the special opportunity to see the view here for yourself! Come on up!
Springpoint Ledge Lighthouse Introduction
Hand Pump
The hand pump with which the keepers drew water from the cisterns in the basement for cooking, drinking, and cleaning.
Guide to Exploring this 3D Tour
Welcome to the 3D tour of Springpoint Ledge Lighthouse! Please read through this short guide to optimize your viewing experience! Points of Interest: you will notice many colored pins on your tour of the lighthouse; blue pins will open a short video, yellow pins provide general information about the room/floor, and purple pins provide more specific information. Guided Tour: while you are always welcome to "walk around" freely, if you prefer a more catered experience we recommend navigating through the points of interest pins using the left and right arrows above. This will move you through the lighthouse while allowing you to learn some fun facts along the way! Moving Around: clicking will move you through the tour and clicking & dragging will rotate your view within the 360 degree image. Whether you are following the guided tour or not, you are welcome to move the image around for a better view as you please. Enjoy!!
Welcome to the Watch Room
The watch room was functionally the nerve center of the lighthouse, the gateway to the "business end." The watch room of Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse was the office from which the light and fog bell were tended.
Head Keeper's Gallery
Assistant's Quarters
Sash Windows
The galley was equipped with sash windows that could be opened for ventilation and they were probably the primary means of temperature control in both winter and summer. All of the sash windows were replaced with glass bricks for security when the lighthouse was automated.
Breakwater
At 875 feet long, construction of this granite breakwater began by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1950 and was completed in 1951. The s tone was quarried in Biddeford and Wells consisting of 25% 3-ton blocks and 75% 5-ton blocks. At low water the wall stands at 15 feet and 6 feet at high water with a s ide slope of ~1:1 on the harborside and 2:1 seaside. The cost of construction was about $215,000.
Privy
On the east side of the main gallery was located the privy, or outhouse. The sewage from the privy fell through a hole in the deck and into the bay. During that era, environmental considerations were not a factor. The privy was not present when the lighthouse was commissioned; how the keepers coped with that situation until the privy was built, we'll leave to your imagination.
Walk-In Closet
The Head Keeper's level was also provided with a walk-in closet beneath the stairs and a cupboard for storage.
Coal Hatch
There was a hatch in the basement ceiling on the east side to permit coal to be transferred directly into the basement from a supply barge or boat alongside.
Solar Panels
Installed in August 2010 these solar panels charge batteries, stored in the basement, and cover the electrical needs of the entire lighthouse.
Fresnel Lens
One of the most important improvements in lighthouses came with the development of the Fresnel lens. This lens, made up of multiple prisms which focus and amplify the light beam emitted from the lantern, revolutionized the lighthouse and increased its range and effectiveness for mariners.The developer of the lens was an obscure French physicist, Augustine-Jean Fresnel (pronounced "Fraynel"), born in 1788. While assigned to civil engineering projects, such as roads and bridges, Fresnel developed an interest in light and began working on a method of focusing it.When you take an in-person tour of the lighthouse be sure to ask your guide about the mystery surrounding the original lens!
Support Column Ends
The main supporting column that runs through the lighthouse from the basement to the ceiling of the assistant keeper's quarters also ends here, with six shims, like large washers, used at the top of the column to snug it up against the ceiling, which is also the floor of the watch room.
Thank you!
Thank you for visiting and exploring the 3D tour of Springpoint Ledge Lighthouse! We hope that after exploring the lighthouse virtually, you will come and explore it in person some time soon!To book a tour and find more information about the lighthouse visit our website [springpointledgelight.org](https://springpointledgelight.org/)
Coal Stove
Heat for cooking and warmth came from a coal stove. The brick walls are 24 inches thick at the base of the galley level and one can easily imagine the galley becoming quite hot when the coal stove was burning at it's most efficient temperature. The galley was equipped with sash windows that could be opened for ventilation and they were probably the primary means of temperature control in both winter and summer.
Windows
Like the galley below, the windows in the keepers' quarters were once sash windows and could be opened for ventilation in the summer. The windows also provided convenient access to the top of the main gallery roof for maintenance and painting.
Basement
The basement level of the lighthouse was also referred to as the first floor, even though we now think of the galley level as first. The basement is actually contained within the cast iron cylinder and, thanks to the height of the breakwater, visitors are actually standing even with the basement level when next to the lighthouse.
First Level and Galley
Welcome to the Assistant Keeper's Quarters
The assistant keeper's quarters were directly above the head keeper's quarters and beneath the watch room. The assistant keeper suffered a lack of privacy, since anyone going up the the watch room had to pass through his room to get to the steel ladder leading to the next deck.
Donate to Support Lighthouse Preservation
Looking to support our mission? [Make a secure donation through Square](https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML6YQ7263TYB3/checkout/ZIQI2XAVFOIPTTMGEO5MRPQL) – it's tax-deductible and will be put towards helping us offset our operating costs or towards an upcoming renovation project.
Watch Deck/Upper Gallery
Lens Clockwork Cable
Nothing remains of the lens clockwork except for the sealed slot in the floor through which once passed the cable holding the clockwork's weight.
Lens Clockwork Weight
In the ceiling adjacent to the center column is the shape of what was once a six-inch hole. This hole allowed the small weight from the lens clockwork to extend from the lantern room, providing room for the weight to move up and down as it was wound and the clockwork ran down, turning the lens.
Welcome to the Head Keeper's Quarters
The head keeper's quarters is located one level above the galley. The head keeper enjoyed more privacy, since the stairs passed outside his doorway and he could close his door. One assumes the keeper also had his personal bag or steamer trunk and perhaps a chest of drawers for additional storage while on duty. There is evidence that pegs or dowels were inserted into the brick walls to provide hangars for clothing or coats... can you spot them?
Cabinet & Shelves
In 2013, the Trust commissioned a craftsman in Scarborough, Maine, to build a recreation of the cabinet and shelves that used to be in the galley. The original was removed by the US Coast Guard to provide for the underwater electrical cable to enter the lighthouse. The cabinet was moved to the lighthouse in two pieces by boat, hoisted up onto the main gallery, and reassembled. It is a welcomed addition to the galley.
Look at that View!
We think some of the best views of the Portland Harbor can be seen from the Upper Gallery here!
Furnishings
The Trust has furnished the head keeper's quarters with representative furniture to recreate the feel of a turn-of-the-century lighthouse, but the furnishings cannot be considered accurate as no photographs of the interior of the lighthouse have been discovered.
Furniture
The furniture in both keepers' quarters was most likely functional, but unremarkable, government-issue items: a bed or cot and, for the head keeper, probably a small desk.
Clockwork
Most of the floor space of the watch room was taken up by the clockwork of the Steven's Fog Bell Apparatus. The clockwork took up most of the center of the floor, with a weight suspended on a cable beneath the clockwork that passed into the center support column. The keepers also had to avoid the smaller weight and cable from the lens clockwork that passed through the watch room from the lantern room above and into the assistant and head keepers' quarters below. More information on the Steven's fog bell apparatus can be found in the Fog Signal section of our web site.
Stevens Fog Bell Apparatus
The outside bell was sounded by a sledge hammer operated by an automated Stevens Fog Bell machine, which was purchased for $300. An additional $100 was appropriated to set the machine up at the Boston Light Station for testing while the Spring Point lighthouse was being built.The Stevens Fog Bell apparatus was used in many lighthouses to ring a fog bell at a predetermined interval. The interval was determined by a set of cams and ratchets which made up the clockworks. A series of weights was suspended by a wire rope through the center column of the lighthouse. All the keeper had to do was keep the clockworks wound up. However, that was not as easy as it sounds because the weights could range from 200 to 800 pounds or more. These clockworks were advertised as good for 10,000 blows of the bell at one winding. The weights came in sections of 100 pounds each and the amount of weight applied determined the force with which the bell was struck. The Spring Point Ledge Light probably had a 200-300 pound weight. It is still in the center column in the cellar where it was dropped, along with the cable, when the Stevens fog bell apparatus was removed and replaced with an electric bell striker in the mid-1950s.
Brick Walls
The basement is lined with brick to a thickness of around 24 inches.
Lens Clockwork Cable
Like the head keeper's quarters, there is also the outline of a hole in the ceiling and floor adjacent to the center column, through which the weight and cable from the lens clockwork passed.
Brick Walls
The brick walls here are about 20 inches thick and this is the last floor with brick walls. The watch room and lantern room above continue the more traditional cast iron construction.
Welcome to the Galley!
The galley was the social center of the lighthouse where the keepers took their meals and relaxed during down time.
Gus Wilson
The best-known keeper at Spring Point was Augustus (Gus) Aaron Wilson, who was renowned for the detail and the highly varied head and wing positions of his carved decoys. Wilson frequently sold his decoys for 75 cents apiece to the Walker & Evans sporting goods store in Portland or gave them away to friends and some have been sold recently for as high as $195,000! [Learn more about him here](https://springpointledgelight.org/keepers)
