Whitlocks Mill Lighthouse
Calais, Maine
Built in 1910
| Photo Gallery |
Location:
South bank of the St. Croix River. Private residence and very well enforced. There is a turnout beforehand where you can get a fine view of the lighthouse.
Latitude: 45° 09' 46" N
Longitude: 67° 13' 39" W
Historic Stories:
Calais was an important lumbering port in the late 19th century. In 1892, a lantern was used on a tree with the help of an appointed local mill operator, Mr. Whitlock, to guide local mariners entering the St. Croix River.
| Later, the Whitlocks Mill lighthouse was established in 1910 and is one of Maine’s youngest lighthouses. Its location makes it the northernmost lighthouse in New England. |
Early Whitlocks Mill Light |
The first light was built in 1892 and replaced in 1901. The interior is distinctively lined with white ceramic-faced brick.
Keeper Jasper Cheney was transferred from the remote foggy station of Libby Island Light to the Whitlocks MIll Light in 1949. Beforehand, his family was living onshore as Libby Island was a stag station of only men. The new appointment allowed him to have his family with him at the station, on the mainland, all year round. His family spent much time planting flowers and decorating the station and grounds for visitors to enjoy.
The quarters are now a private home, but the lighthouse is still operational. Located in south bank, St. Croix River.
Places to Visit Nearby:
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Traveling up Route 1 from Lubec towards Calais, you’ll find an odd site where someone has decorated sticks and logs to create a colony of “Log People.” |
You can appreciate the amount of work that went into this creation.
Calais is primarily a shopping enter for the area and boasts a warm relationship with its sister town over the Canadian border, St. Steven, where even holidays are mutually celebrated. It is the eighth busiest port of entry into the United States.
If you want to take a break from shopping, visit the Downeast Heritage Museum to understand the local culture here, or take a nature hike in the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge.
The lighthouse is best viewed from a nearby rest area, as it is a private residence and any visitors are not welcome. They have a very grump dog to make sure no one visits.
Directions:
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About three miles east of Calais on Route 1, you can see the lighthouse from a small dirt road on the right.
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You can also view it from the St. Croix River View Rest Area on Route 1 in Calais from the south direction.
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Trees may obstruct this view in the summer.
Contact Info:
St. Croix Historical Society
P.O. Box 242
Calais, Maine 04619
Phone: (207) 454-2604
My 300-page book (with over 360 images), Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Northern New England: New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, provides human interest stories from each of the 76 lighthouses in the northeastern coast, along with plenty of coastal attractions and tours near each beacon. Look inside! |
|
New Book Just Published Summer 2023!
The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships:
Stories of the Six and Seven-Masted
Coal Schooners of New England
Available also as an eBook and you can get it at Amazon Books. Look inside! |
In the early 1900s, New England shipbuilders constructed the world’s largest sailing ships amid social and political reforms. These giants of sail 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! A few of these vessels, when fierce competion for coal arose, would travel up to northern Maine through the St. Crois River to Calais, to transport lumber to ports south. This book, balanced with plenty of color and vintage images, showcases the historical accounts that followed these mighty ships. These true stories include competitions, accidents, battling destructive storms, acts of heroism, and their final voyages. |