Boon Island Light
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| Location | Boon Island off York beach |
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| Coordinates | 43°7′17.218″N 70°28′35.119″W / 43.12144944°N 70.47642194°WCoordinates: 43°7′17.218″N 70°28′35.119″W / 43.12144944°N 70.47642194°W |
| Year first constructed | 1811 |
| Year first lit | 1855 (current tower) |
| Automated | 1980 |
| Foundation | Surface rock |
| Construction | Granite |
| Tower shape | Gray conical tower connected to building |
| Focal height | 137 feet (42 m) |
| Original lens | Second order Fresnel lens |
| Current lens | VRB-25 |
| Range | 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi) |
| Characteristic | Flashing white 5s |
| Fog signal | HORN: 1 every 10s |
| Admiralty number | J0228 |
| ARLHS number | USA-071 |
| USCG number |
1-155 |
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Boon Island Light Station
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| Nearest city | York, Maine |
| Built | 1855 |
| Architect | US Army Corps of Engineers |
| MPS | Light Stations of Maine MPS |
| NRHP Reference # | 88000153 |
| Added to NRHP | March 14, 1988 |
1-155
Boon Island Light is located on the 300-by-700-foot (91 m × 213 m) Boon Island off the southern coast of Maine, United States, near Cape Neddick. Boon Island Light has the distinction of being the tallest lighthouse in both Maine and New England at 133 feet (41 m). The lighthouse has a focal plane at 137 feet (42 m) above mean high water. The light's beacon flashes white every 5 seconds.
Talk of building a lighthouse on Boon Island dates back as early as 1710 when the ship Nottingham Galley ran aground on the barren outcrop that makes up the island. The crew of the Galley were forced to resort to cannibalism before being rescued. In 1799 the first day marker and the station itself were established on the island. In 1811 the station was converted to a full light station and a granite tower was constructed. The first tower along with a subsequent replacement were both washed away in storms.
The current cylindrical brown granite tower was constructed in 1855 and originally had a second order Fresnel lens installed. Boon Island Light suffered extensive damage in a blizzard in 1978. Several stones that make up the tower itself were washed into the sea as were all of the keepers dwellings and other outbuildings that had been on the island. As a result, the station was automated in 1980 and a solar powered beacon was installed by the United States Coast Guard. The station is currently active and controlled by the Coast Guard while the lighthouse itself is on lease to the American Lighthouse Foundation. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Boon Island Light Station on March 14, 1988, reference number 88000153.
Historical information from Coast Guard web site:
President James Madison authorized the building of Boon Island Lighthouse during the War of 1812. A new lighthouse tower was erected near the old tower in 1855, consisting of a gray granite conical tower, 133 feet above the water, 6.2 nautical miles (11.5 km; 7.1 mi) off the coast of Maine.
As Boon Island is a very flat piece of land, well surrounded by ledges, the tower appears at times to be springing up from the sea from a submerged ledge, especially when low clouds are flying. One of the most isolated stations off the Maine coast, it is also one of the most dangerous.
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Wikipedia