The American Lighthouse Foundation is on
a mission to raise awareness for the plight and preservation needs of
Maine’s loftiest seacoast beacon before it’s too late. On April 1, 2006,
members and friends of the American Lighthouse Foundation will set sail
aboard the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company’s M/V Thomas Laighton
for Boon Island to reestablish their presence at this remote site and to
ensure the Republic of Boon Island “government” remains in “control” of
the desolate ledge and lighthouse. This exciting event – filled with fun
and camaraderie, is intent on continuing to “shine a light” on the
importance of restoring the iconic Boon Island Lighthouse and saving its
rich heritage for our children of tomorrow.
ALF Photo
The flag of the Republic of Boon Island
flying proudly
on a visit to view the site
from the water
At a towering 133 feet in height,
the Boon Island Lighthouse is an imposing sight, standing majestically on a
barren rocky ledge some six miles off the coast of Kittery and York, Maine.
Few light stations along the Atlantic seaboard are more exposed to the
unabated fury of the sea
U.S. Coast Guard Photo
A vintage shot of Boon
Island Light Station
than Boon
Island, where powerful storm waves routinely move massive boulders like
child’s play. Longtime keeper William Williams once attested to this
fact, noting, “The seas would clean the ledge right off sometimes…I was
always thinking over just what I would do in order to save my life,
should the whole station be swept away.”
The engineers
who designed the lighthouse knew all too well the great power of the sea
at this wave-swept location. The beacon was constructed with the thought
in mind that it would have to do great battle with King Neptune in such
a dreadful
environment. The
aging beacon is thus the epitome of the word ‘rugged.’ Boon Island’s weather
stained granite blocks interlock to form a mighty stature that lifts its
guiding beacon to what seems like cloud-kissing heights, which has
safeguarded humanity over the past century and a half.
First lit on
January 1, 1855, the present lighthouse is the second sentinel to guard this
bleak and dangerous outpost. In 1891 author and
writer Samuel Adams Drake captured the
essence of the site, saying, “…Boon Island lifts its solitary shaft
aloft like an ‘eternal exclamation mark’ to the temerity of its
builders. There is no comfortable dwelling on that lonely rock, over
which storms sweep unchecked. The tower is itself both house and home to
the watchman of the sea, and in great
ALF Photo
Storms routinely deposit rocks and
large boulders at the entrance door
to the lighthouse
gales a prison
from which there is no escape until the return of fine weather.”
Though difficult
for modern residents to envision today, there was a time when Boon Island’s
remote offshore location was the daily concern of many folks along the
coastal towns of Kittery and York. In addition to shipping interests, local
lobstermen and fishermen also relied heavily on
ALF Photo
The Vega VRB-25 serves as Boon Island's
main light today, with the smaller 300mm emergency beacon hanging from
the cupola
the beacon’s flashing white light and its
doleful-sounding fog horn to protect them at night and during thick
weather from the dangers of the deep. In many ways, the rocky ledge far
out to sea was an extension of these two southern Maine communities –
for local men and their families served as keepers at Boon Island and
its residents benefited greatly from the protection the beacon afforded
their waterborne activities and commerce.
The changing times eventually diminished the lifesaving
powers of the lighthouse and the once-fond affection Mainers possessed
for the esteemed sentinel’s benevolent presence. Over the
last few decades,
the elements and steady deterioration have exacted a heavy toll on the
structure. Worse yet, Boon Island Lighthouse is all but forgotten upon the
ocean’s vast expanse by a majority of our society in the fast paced 21st
century. Though the U.S. Coast Guard still maintains an operating beacon and
fog horn at the site, its utilitarian value to mariners has been
overshadowed in the wake of navigational technology, and in the process, its
future has been left to the hands of fate.
“We must continue
working hard in the present to raise awareness for the light’s restoration,”
says Timothy Harrison, president of the
American Lighthouse Foundation. “Time is never on the
side of lighthouse preservation projects, and this is especially true
for a beacon as remote and difficult to access as Boon Island. In an
effort to help boost awareness for the offshore guardian, the American
Lighthouse Foundation created the ‘Republic of Boon Island’ in 2003 as a
fun way of soliciting donations for the beacon’s plight.”
Harrison, who masquerades as the Regent Lord Master for
the Republic of Boon Island, went on to state, “We declared Boon Island
an ‘independent nation’ from the United States and installed a ‘corrupt
government’ that would accept any ‘bribe’ when it came to purchasing an
office within that government. This was all in jest of course, but it is
a fun way of
ALF Photo
'Regent Lord Master' Tim
Harrison (left) reads the
Republic of Boon Island
proclamation declaring its independence as Ron Foster, 'Secretary
General of Boon
Island Security,' stands guard
bringing serious
attention to the importance of saving Boon Island Lighthouse.”
The dire restoration work Harrison refers at Boon Island Lighthouse is
something the American Lighthouse Foundation is committed to ensuring
happens. The organization believes that the only way to save and preserve
the 1855 sentinel is through dedicated advocating efforts that eventually
yield the public and private sector financial support so critical to the
offshore light’s restoration. “ALF is leading the way to saving Boon Island
Lighthouse, but we can’t do it alone,” says Harrison. “By working together
with the community, ALF can and will save this great historic treasure for
future generations.”
To learn more about how you can help the American Lighthouse Foundation's
efforts to save Boon Island Lighthouse, email ALF at
info@lighthousefoundation.org or call (207)
594-4174.
