Bear Island Lighthouse
Northeast Harbor, Maine
Built in 1839
Location:
Southeast entrance to Northeast Harbor. Privately owned.
Latitude: 44° 16' 59" N
Longitude: 68° 16' 10" W
Historic Stories:
Bear Island is part of the Cranberry Islands.
| Bear Island Lighthouse was established in 1839 to help mariners entering Somes Sound into Northeast Harbor. |
Early Bear Island Light |
The lighthouse was completely rebuilt in 1889, and for a number of years during this period the island established a buoy depot for maintaining navigational aids and for buoy tenders to refuel.
In the early 1840s, there was discussion between the government and local mariners as to the need for the lighthouse. The government finally agreed with the locals and decided to keep the beacon active. One of the locals, Captain Doyle, claimed that he would have lost his vessel with a valuable cargo during a voyage from Eastport, if it had not been for the light.
Early Bear Island Light |
Elmo J. Turner was the keeper for some years in the 1930s and had a cow and some chickens on the island. |
One day the cow had to be taken to the mainland using their dory, and then had to be brought back to the station. The anxious animal got very seasick on the way back.
In the late 1950s, Terry and Nancy Stanley lived at the lighthouse. Terry gained a local reputation regarding his creative skills during his spare time in carving elaborate wooden birds and fish.
Bear Island Light was deactivated in 1981, and was replaced by an offshore lighted bell buoy, causing the tower and buildings to deteriorate over the years. In 1989, the property became part of the Friends of Acadia National Park and was in dire need of necessary restoration. Volunteers refurbished part of the keeper's house for $17,000 (more repairs were needed) and the tower was relit once again as a private aid to navigation.
An auction was held for someone to come in and lease the property and buildings as a private residence and pay for its upkeep as the Coast Guard would tend to the function of only the light itself. Only one person showed up at the auction and purchased the property to lease for 50 years. He paid only one dollar. Martin Morad, who was professor of pharmacology with his wife Fabiola, a former lawyer and interior designer, became the new owners of the property. It took nearly three years of renovation before the new couple could move in.
Places to Visit Nearby:
Mount Desert Island became an international tourist attraction in the nineteenth century as a main component of the Acadia National Park system. To accommodate the influx of international and American tourists from the sea, as well as many leaving on tours from the harbor, and for the local mariners, a series of lighthouses were built on and around Mount Desert Island. There are many islands in this area, and lighthouses were built atop some of these to guide mariners through the Blue Hill and Frenchman Bays, and Somes Sound.
Northeast Harbor provides a unique opportunity to take the the Islesford ferry from Northeast Harbor to visit the other Cranberry Islands. There are tour boats that sometimes pass the lighthouse and a mail boat ferry you can take to Great Cranberry Island and Islesford that goes past the lighthouse.
Islesford offers a historical museum, art gallery, and grocery store at the island; Sea Princess Cruises offer tours that pass by the lighthouse along with wildlife tours of the area. Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company offers tours that pass closely by the lighthouse.
| Visit these islands and you’ll find yourself going back in time as little has changed over the years. |
Lobstermen Hauling Traps |
The Islesford Historical Museum located on Little Cranbury Island, which can be reached by mail boat, or some of the tour boats, provides exhibits that tell the story of the Cranberry Islands and its people through ship models, navigation aids, photographs, and tools.
When you hitch a ride on these mail boats, they are very inexpensive, and provide you the unique opportunity to visit neighboring islands to disconnect from the mainland and relax.
Contact Info:
Acadia National Park Service
53 Main Street
Bar Harbor, ME
(207) 288-0300.
Local Boat Tours
Cruises mentioned below may offer many types of excursions. While some may offer specific lighthouse cruises, some may pass by Bear Island Lighthouse during sailing charters, narrated wildlife and historic tours, fishing tours and other types of excursions.
Sea Princess Cruises
Narrated wildlife cruises.
Box 545
Mount Desert, ME 04660
Phone: (207) 276-5352
E-mail: rliebow@acadia.net
Islesford Ferry Terminal
Main Rd,
Cranberry Isles, ME 04625
Phone:
(207) 244-5882
Beal and Bunker Mailboat and Ferry
Year-round service to Great Cranberry, Little Cranberry, and, on request, Sutton Island, leaving from the Northeast Harbor town pier.
Northeast Harbor
Phone: (207) 244-3575
Sail Acadia
Want to sail on an old fashioned Friendship Sloop sailboat used to haul lobsters? They offer private and shared sailing trips aboard two of these vintage sailboats (maximum six passengers), the Alice E., used as a working lobster boat, and the Linda. Their Mount Desert Island sailing tour on one of these old lobster sailboats pass by Bear Island Lighthouse. For larger groups they provide outings and nature tours on their wooden lobster boat, the Elizabeth T (maximum of 21 passangers). They are located on the rural side of Mount Desert Island and depart from either Northeast Harbor and Southwest Harbor. Enjoy a true nature tour by some of the most scenic views of the shoreline of Acadia.
The Alice E and Elizabeth T depart from:
Dysart’s Great Harbor Marina
11 Apple Lane, Southwest Harbor, ME 04679
The Linda departs from:
Northeast Harbor Commercial Pier
26 Sea Street, Northeast Harbor, ME 04662
Phone: (207) 266-5210
Email: sailacadia@gmail.com
Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company
In addiition to whale watching, nature, and fishing excusions, they provide three cruises that involve lighthouses. A Puffin and Lighthouse cruise, a park ranger tour that includes exploring Baker Island Lighthouse, and a Somes Sound and Lighthouse Tour.
1 West Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609
Phone: (207) 288-2386 or 1-888-WHALES-4
Email: info@barharborwhales.com
Lighthouses Egg Rock Light, Winter Harbor Light, Baker Island Light, Petit Manan Light, and Bear Island Light.
Acadian Boat Tours
Acadian Boat Tours, out of Bar Harbor, uses four boats and offers various nature, puffin, and fishing cruises, and a Somes Sound Fjord Tour, along with 3 special lighthouse tours each week, and National Park trips. Visitors can view vintage homes of Bar Harbor, Northeast Harbor, and Seal Harbor, and the quaint village of Southwest Harbor.
119 Eden St, Bar Harbor, ME 04609
Email: seadawg47@gmail.com
Phone (207) 801-2300
Lighthouses: Egg Rock Light, Bear Island Light, Baker Island Light, Petit Manan Light, Winter Harbor Light, Deer Island Thorofare (Mark Island) Light
Schooner Mary Day
Windjammer sailing that included 4 and 6-day lighthouse cruises.
P.O. Box 798, Camden, Maine 04843
Phone: (800) 992-2218
captains@schoonermaryday.com
Scenic Flights
Scenic Flights of Acadia
Has special lighthouse cruises for visitors to have a unique aerial view of 6 beacons in the Acadia region, along with the landscape of Mount Desert Island of Acadia.
200 Main Street (ticket office)
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609
Phone: (207) 667-6527
1044 Bar Harbor Road | Route 3
Trenton, Maine 04605
Email: info@mainecoastalflight.com
Books to Explore
Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Northern New England: This 300-page book with over 360 images provides human interest stories from each of the 76 lighthouses in northern New England, along with plenty of coastal attractions and tours near each beacon, and contact info to plan your special trips. Look inside! |
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Available on online bookstores in paperback, hardcover, and as an eBook for all devices.
Enjoy a 10% discount on the hardcover version. Printed and distributed globally by IngramSpark. |
The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships: In the early 1900s, New England shipbuilders constructed the world’s largest sailing ships amid social and political reforms. These giants of sail were built to carry massive quantities of coal and building supplies, and measured longer than a football field! A few of these vessels, when fierce competition for coal arose, would travel up to northern Maine, Calais, and southeastern Canada to transport lumber and coke (used for smelting iron ore) to ports south. These true stories include various accidents, battling destructive storms, acts of heroism, and their final voyages. |
