A rare Seth
Thomas brass clock that once hung at the old Cross Island Moorings Life
Saving Station, near Machiasport, has been donated to the Friends of
Little River Lighthouse for display at Little River Lighthouse, which is
located on an island in Cutler, Maine.
George
Morrison, of New Brunswick, Canada, who inherited the clock from his
father a number of years ago, donated the rare brass clock to the
lighthouse. Morrison said he was unclear when his father acquired the
clock, although the date on the
Photo by Kathleen Finnegan
The rare Seth Thomas brass clock from the
former Cross Island Moorings Life Boat
Station that George and Wendy
Morrison donated to the Friends of Little River
Lighthouse for display at Little River
Lighthouse in Cutler, Maine.
plaque that is on
says 1961, so it might have been given to him when the Cross Island Station
was discontinued. However, the clock itself dates back to the early 1900s.
Morrison said he
decided to donate the clock to the lighthouse after he and his wife spent
the night at the restored lighthouse earlier this year, first as overnight
paying guests and then as volunteer caretakers. Morrison said that after
reading about the years of restoration work at the Little River Lighthouse
by dedicated volunteers like Tim Harrison, Kathleen Finnegan, Hal Biering,
and many others, he felt the clock should be on display at the lighthouse
for the public to view, as his contribution to honor the work that had been
done at the lighthouse and for the public to appreciate the history of his
family’s maritime heritage.
Tim Harrison, co
founder of the American Lighthouse Foundation, who led the restoration
efforts to save Little River Lighthouse, said Seth Thomas
Photograph by Lee Leighton.
George and Wendy Morrison at
Little River Lighthouse.
clocks were the official clocks of the
old United States Life Saving Service. In 1915, the U.S. Revenue Cutter
Service and the U.S. Life Saving Service were merged to create the U.S.
Coast Guard. In 1939 the U.S. Lighthouse Service was dissolved and
merged into the Coast Guard. Harrison continued by saying, “At a later
date, Chelsea clocks
were also used, however, it was
the Seth Thomas clocks that were originally the official clocks. It is
highly likely that this clock was first used at the original Cross Island
Life Saving Station before it was abandoned and replaced by new buildings
that became the Cross Island Life Boat Station and later named the Cross
Island Coast Guard Station. Since there was nothing wrong with the clock, we
must assume that it would simply have been moved, along with other items, to
the new station.”
Morrison is no
stranger to lighthouses. His father, George Sullivan Morrison, served a long
and distinguished career in the United States Coast
Guard. In the
1940s, the Morrrison family was the last family to be stationed at St.
Croix River Lighthouse in Calais. His father had also been stationed at
Quoddy Head Coast Guard Station, Moose Peak Lighthouse and Cross Island
Life Boat Station. Son, George, followed in his father’s footsteps and
spent 20 years in the Coast Guard and served part of that time as a
lighthouse keeper at Libby Island Lighthouse.
Photograph courtesy of George Sanford Morrison.
The Cross Island Moorings Life Boat
Station
near Machiasport, Maine, as it
appeared when George Sullivan Morrison was stationed there.
It later became the Cross Island Coast
Guard Station but was discontinued in the early 1960s and sold into
private ownership. This station replaced an earlier station that had
been built
by the United States Life Saving Service.
As well as
donating the rare brass clock, Morrison also donated a 1911 Light List book
to the lighthouse. Morrison said that he hopes his donations will inspire
other people, who have lighthouse, life-saving, or Coast Guard artifacts in
their family’s possession, to also donate them to the Little River
Lighthouse where they can be put on display and properly saved for future
generations.
The Cross Island
Coast Guard Station was discontinued in the 1960s. Little River Lighthouse
is now restored and available in the summer months for overnight stays. It
is managed by the Friends of Little River Lighthouse, a chapter of the
American Lighthouse Foundation, P.O. Box 671, East Machias, ME 04630. To
learn more you can visit their web site at
or call them at 207-259-3833.
