Owls Head is a town in Knox County, Maine, incorporated in 1921. Some historians feel that the name comes from the Indian word “Mecadacut,” meaning Owls Head. Another theory is that sailors named it for for the shape of the promontory, which they thought resembled the head and neck of an owl. The town is home to the Owls Head Light and the Owls Head Transportation (more about this museum later).
Owls Head Light is on the grounds of Owls Head Light State Park, which is open to the public – the lighthouse is not. The station was built in 1826 at the southern entrance of Rockland Harbor on the west side of Penobscot Bay. Like the Rockland Breakwater light, the Owls Head Light was built to guide heavy ship traffic carrying limestone out of the area in the 1800s.The 30-foot, white cylindrical tower sits atop a tall, tree-studded promontory. In 1856, the original lamps and reflectors were replaced by a Fresnel lens that remains in use and is visible for 16 miles.
The Owls Head Light was one of the last U.S. lighthouses to be automated and was operated by lighthouse keepers until 1989. It
is owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and is situated inside Owls Head Light State Park. A wood frame keeper's residence was added in 1854 and serves as housing for U.S. Coast Guard personnel. Over the years, a boathouse (1894), oil storage building (1895), bell tower (1906) and generator house were added. The boathouse and bell tower have been removed. A wooden walkway was rebuilt in 2004-05 and provides pubic access to the light.
Owls Head State Park provided beautiful vistas on a clear day.
15 comments:
Hi Folks...what a beautiful day but blustery,to be there.
My daughter has taken pictures of just about every light house on the Maine coast and Owls Head of course!!
I really like that you are putting the history in your blog of the trip...some things I myself am learning...thanks for taking us all along!!
Ah, more beautiful scenery and great history of the area. Excellent post once again. :)
Man...that is one monster set of stairs! Pretty good work-out just climbing to the top!
Thanks for some more beautiful scenery!
AT LAST! A LIGHTHOUSE!!!!! Phew. I thought you'd never get to one! And water! YES! MAINE!
Oh, I have been so homesick for Maine.
Grammie G, glad you are continuing to enjoy the postings. It weasn't too windy when we were at Owls head Light, just a beautiful day with great views. Glad we cancelled the Sat trip and went on Sunday instead cause Sat was chilly and overcast. We were talking about a possible lighthouse tour, but on another trip.
Hey Lois, this was a cute little lighthouse and not too bad a climb. And, even if the lighthouse was open it's just a short one to have climbed up, but alas it's not :-(
HermitJim, the steps weren't that bad a climb, but yes we got some exercise walking around the park as well. You're very welcome for the vistas, my please, friend.
YES Possum, Water views and WAIT WAIT there will be more cause we saw lobster boats AND then went to the Rockland breakwater and even walked it AND saw another lighthouse there..keep reading cause that one is coming up!
Thanks for another great look at some beautiful scenery - the State park looks so nice.
Beautiful shots and nice post.
Who doesn't love a lighthouse!! Enjoyed the history! Born in Connecticut, but never been to Maine. Now live in West Virginia. I wanted to thank you from coming over from Lois' posts and hope you'll return!! Sorry your car was damaged. It just takes forever doesn't it?! I got my little rental car today. Good for only a month. I see you live in Virginia. A beautiful state! I go through it all the time and go see my sister who lives in Blacksburg. So, we're close!! Your farm house is really nifty!! Thanks for visiting and come again soon and I'll be back to see you daily...debbie
Funny, my husband and I were just talking about seeing Maine someday. The east coast is on my bucket list! I've been all over the country except no further east than Indiana!
The view from the lighthouse was gorgeous! However looking at the stairs made my knees hurt!
Thanks for the tour! Love Di ♥
I'll try again. That's a very well kept lighthouse. One that we saw this summer in Nova Scotia wasn't, but it was charming in its own way.
Thanks Mona, it was such a beautiful day when we visited perfect for a lighthouse visit and a walk in the park.
Welcome Debbie and thanks for dropping in! You are most welcome to stop in anytime - hope you will caus we really read and enjoy all comments and visits. Our home state is and we visit CT relatives in New London several times a year. We also have friends near Blacksburg and have been there too. Glad you liked our home; yours in WV is lovely too :-) BTW my car repair should be done by the time we return home; hope yours is "all better" soon. I'll be back to visit your blog too!
Hi Diana, Welcome to our blog! Yes by all means do visit Maine, preferably in the fall - after the very busy summer tourist season. That's when the fall colors abound. This is our 1st visit so we are making the most of it and seeing as much as we can. The lighthouse view was worth the climb and the steps were not that bad - only look more exaggertaed in the photo. Hope you are feeling better and will return again soon. Were conntinuing our Maine tour the rest of this week in the Portland area.
AC, this lighthouse was very attractive and indeed in great condition at least on the exterior that we saw. I read that the interior had been restored as well, but alas it's not open to the public.
WHOOPS Debbie - meant to say we are from NJ and visit family in CT! Sometimes type faster then I can think.
Great views from the lighthouse. I can see we are going to have to allow quite a bit of time to see Maine, but we have a lot of ground to cover around the country. There are so many wonderful places to visit, and so little time.....
Elaine, that's surely the truth. By the way, I haven't yet posted (yet) about the Owls Head Transportation Museum and it's another place for you to include cause Marty would really like to see all the antique cars and more.
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