Great Duck Island Lighthouse
Frenchboro, Maine
Built in 1890
Location:
On remote Great Duck Island a few miles southeast of Mount Desert Rock Light. The island is used for marine and bird research and grounds are not open to the public.
Latitude: 44° 08' 30" N
Longitude: 68° 14' 42" W
Historic Stories:
This other remote island got its name from a pond in the center of the island that attracted huge crowds of ducks each spring.
The lighthouse was built in 1890 and had three keeper’s dwellings by the side of the lighthouse. This proved quite helpful with one Keeper Nathan Reed, who had one of the largest families to tend a lighthouse with his wife and 17 children.
| At one time, because of the large number of keepers' children on the island, a small school was established, the only such school for lighthouse children. |
Early Great Duck Island Light |
Keeper's Daughter Rescues Abandoned Dog
A dog that was believed to have survived a shipwreck was found at the island and adopted with the name Seaboy by a little girl who found him on the island. Two years later a fisherman, who claimed the dog as his own, tried to bring the dog back with him. As the fisherman rowed away the dog jumped out of the boat and swam back ashore to the little girl calling for him. The fisherman never returned to try to reclaim the dog and the story became the basis for a popular children’s book Captain’s Castaway.For more details of this story, select the link "Keeper's Daughter Rescues Dog" above to be directed to my Lighthouse Stories section.
In early February 1955, a newly appointed Coast Guardsman to the lighthouse, Richard Swartz, found his pregnant wife going into an early labor. At the time the seas were rough and help from a local tugboat could only be docked on the other side of the island. Both Richard and his wife walked for an hour and a half in deep snow to find the boat to bring his wife to the hospital on the mainland where she was given immediate medical attention and proudly gave birth to a baby boy.
The current lighthouse is located southeast of Mount Desert Rock Light and stands 67 feet above average high water. It was automated in 1986. It is estimated that Great Duck Island supports over one-fifth of Maine’s nesting seabird population.
Both Great Duck and Mount Desert Rock lighthouses have been the property of Bar Harbor’s College of the Atlantic for ecological and botanical studies since 1998.
Places to Visit:
Island Cruises offers leisurely cruises that include wildlife tours and lobster trap hauling around Bass Harbor, and cruises to some of the outer islands including the offshore fishing village of Frenchboro. One of their cruises is the Morning Lunch Cruise out to Frenchboro. The island, named Long Island, hasn’t changed and is a welcoming site for those who want to relax and disconnect. The Maine State Ferry offers no frills rides from Bass Harbor to Frenchboro, and to nearby Swan’s Island.
On Frenchboro Island, not only will you be stepping back in time to an old working fishing village, but you’ll find the real deal in an island lobster shack at Lunt’s Dockside Deli, right on the fisherman’s wharf.
| Great Duck Island’s remote location is best viewed by boat. | 
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It is not open to the public as it is a bird nesting sanctuary. With a good lens you can get some great images of the island's bird population too.
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There are not only lighthouse cruises, but deep-sea fishing, whaling, and sailing excursions as well. |
Contact Info:
Bar Harbor’s College of the Atlantic
Local Boat Tour
Isle au Haut Boat CompanyDaily mail boat trips to the island of Isle au Haut in the summer season.
They offer a special annual cruise during Maine's lighthouse weekend in September to see up to ten lighthouses, with four lighthouses on Sunday of that weekend: Hockamock Head Light (Swan's Island), Great Duck Island Light, Bass Harbor Head Light, and Blue Hill Bay (Eggemoggin) Lighthouse.
Isle au Haut Boat Services
P.O. Box 709
Stonington, ME 04681
Tel. (207) 367-5193
www.isleauhaut.com
themailboat@isleauhaut.com
Books to Explore
Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Northern New England: This resourceful book 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. You'll also find a more detailed account about the rescue and care of the dog named "Seaboy" mentioned above. Look inside! |
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Available 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! These true stories include competitions, accidents, battling destructive storms, acts of heroism, and their final voyages. |
This image-rich book contains over 50 stories of famous shipwrecks and rescues around New England lighthouses, and also tales of hauntings. There are more details on the story of the keeper's daughter and her dog Seaboy. |
You'll find this book and my lighthouse tourism books published by Schiffer Books, or they can be found in many fine bookstores like Barnes and Noble.