Cape Neddick “Nubble” Lighthouse is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the United States. Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors drive to Sohier Park in York, Maine, to view the postcard-perfect light station across a few hundred feet of water on its rocky outpost, the island known as the Nubble. Few visitors every actually get onto the Nubble, adding to its mystery.
The buildings at the 1879 light station underwent the first major restoration in many years this past summer and fall. The $238,000 overhaul was paid for largely with funds raised from merchandise sales in the gift shop at the welcome center in Sohier Park. The Town of York owns and manages the park and the lighthouse, while the Coast Guard continues to maintain the light and fog signal as active aids to navigation.
The work was carried out by the J.B. Leslie Company of South Berwick, Maine. Completion was delayed by a few weeks by rough seas caused by bad weather, but town officials were so impressed that Jim Leslie and crew will be the special guests at the “Lighting of the Nubble” event on November 26, when the lighthouse and other buildings will be illuminated with Christmas lights.
* * * * * * *
U.S. Lighthouse Society News is produced by the U.S. Lighthouse Society to support lighthouse preservation, history, education and research. You can receive these posts via email if you click on the “SUBSCRIBE” button in the right-hand column. Please support this electronic newsletter by joining the U.S. Lighthouse Society if you are not already a member.
If you have items of interest to the lighthouse community and its supporters, please email them to Jeremy at nelights@gmail.com.
Candace was the US Lighthouse Society historian from 2016 until she passed away in August 2018. For 30 years, her work involved lighthouse history. She worked with the National Park Service and the Council of American Maritime Museums. She was a noted author and was considered the most knowledgable person on lighthouse information at the National Archives. Books by Candace Clifford include: Women who Kept the Lights: a History of Thirty-eight Female Lighthouse Keepers , Mind the Light Katie, and Maine Lighthouses, Documentation of their Past.