Wood Island Lighthouse Over Rocky Ground in Maine
Lighthouse Keeper’s Dog Named Sailor Rings Fog Bell To Protect Mariners Passing Wood Island Light in Maine
View of Wood Island keeper’s building from the lighthouse tower.
Many lighthouse keepers had a dog or some animal to keep them company as they performed their often grueling and tedious tasks. Keeper Thomas Orcutt tended Wood Island lighthouse in Maine from 1886 to 1909. Around 1894, they brought an 8-week-old puppy named Sailor, a Scotch Collie mix from a farm in nearby Westbrook, Maine, to the lighthouse. He became the lighthouse keeper’s constant companion and an eager learner of the keeper’s duties as he watched his master perform with precision.
In foggy weather, the bell sounded two strikes in succession to identify the lighthouse station to those captains entering the region who could not see it through the fog. Keeper Orcutt even taught the animal to wait roughly 25 seconds between rings, as required by regulations. In fair weather, it was also customary for passing ships to salute the lighthouse keeper with three whistle blasts, to which the keeper would respond by ringing the fog bell.
Early Wood Island Lighthouse with Fog Bell Tower
Courtesy US Coast Guard
Orcutt spent many days teaching Sailor all kinds of tricks, including ringing the fog bell when needed, which involved the circumstances necessary to give the animal a chance to ring the bell. Whenever coastal fog blanketed the area, or when he heard a ship’s whistleblowing, Sailor would eagerly run out of the lighthouse quarters, towards the fog bell, grab the rope in his mouth, and ring it with precision.
One of the first to observe Sailor ringing the bell was Captain Oliver of the Casco Bay Steamship Company when he took an excursion party of several hundred visitors aboard the Forest Green out to Wood Island. As he passed the lighthouse, he gave it a customary three-whistle salute and witnessed the dog running to the fog bell with Keeper Orcutt close behind. Orcutt loosened up the rope to place within the dog’s reach, as Sailor grabbed the rope with his teeth and pulled to ring the bell in response to the ship’s whistle.
As months passed, Sailor would learn to only ring the bell during foggy weather or in response to the ship’s whistles or bells passing by. If a ship blew its whistle, Sailor would automatically run to the fog bell and ring it in response. In foggy weather, Sailor would faithfully stay at his post for hours without leaving or complaining and ring the bell precisely to identify Wood Island Lighthouse’s location.
Sailor became quite famous to the local mariners as the “Wood Island Dog.” The ships would ring their bells or blow their whistles as they passed by the lighthouse and then watch as the dog would run over to the bell and ring it in response. The number of countless vessels he helped during dangerous foggy weather from crashing on the rocks on or near the island would never be known. The animal was perfectly content to stay alongside Keeper Orcutt while he performed his duties and was always excited when the opportunity arose to ring the bell. Sailor was also used as a messenger to carry letters and other small articles in his mouth and was always a tourist attraction for vacationing boaters.
Sailor died of old age in Keeper Orcutt’s arms in 1905. A few months later, Keeper Orcutt, deeply depressed at the loss of his companion and getting along in years himself, resigned his post at Wood Island lighthouse and passed away shortly afterward. A true testament to the love he had for his best friend.
Exploring Wood Island Lighthouse and Grounds
Every summer, the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse offers a small ferry shuttle that will take you to Wood Island and tour the lighthouse from Biddeford Pool. The trip is inexpensive and provides three hours of touring and exploring the island and lighthouse. Here are some photos of Wood Island Light.
Enjoy!
Allan Wood
Books to Explore
The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships
The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships: Stories of the Six and Seven-Masted Coal Schooners of New England. In the early 1900s, New England shipbuilders constructed the world’s largest sailing ships amid social and political reforms. These giants were the ten original six-masted coal schooners and one colossal seven-masted vessel, built to carry massive quantities of coal and building supplies and measured longer than a football field! This book, balanced with plenty of color and vintage images, showcases the historical accounts that followed these mighty ships.
Available also from bookstores in paperback, hardcover, and as an eBook for all devices.
Book – Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions in Southern New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts
My 300-page book, Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Southern New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, provides memorable human interest stories from each of the 92 lighthouses. You can explore plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions, including whale-watching excursions, lighthouse tours, windjammer sailing tours, parks, museums, and even lighthouses where you can stay overnight. You’ll also find plenty of stories of hauntings around lighthouses.
Book – Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions in Northern New England: New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont
My 300-page book, Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Northern New England: New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, provides memorable human interest stories from each of the 76 lighthouses, , including the story of the keeper’s dog Smut mentioned above. There are also descriptions and contact info of plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions and tours you can explore. These include whale watching, lighthouse tours, unique parks, museums, and lighthouses you can stay overnight. There are also stories of haunted lighthouses in these regions.
Book- New England Lighthouses: Famous Shipwrecks, Rescues & Other Tales
My book New England Lighthouses: Famous Shipwrecks, Rescues & Other Tales contains more details about Keeper Orcutt and his dog, among 50 other stories. This image-rich book also contains vintage images provided by the Coast Guard and various organizations and paintings by six famous Coast Guard artists.
You’ll find this book and the lighthouse tourism books from the publisher Schiffer Books or in many fine bookstores like Barnes and Noble.
Copyright © Allan Wood Photography; do not reproduce without permission. All rights reserved.
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