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Save
Our Lights!
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American Lighthouse Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 565
Rockland,
Maine 04841
Phone: 207-594-4174
info@lighthousefoundation.org
The American Lighthouse Foundation is a
Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Organization dedicated to the preservation of America's historic lighthouses.
SEARCH ALF WEB
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Landing on the Ledge at Ram Island to Assess
the Light’s Future
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Representatives from the American Lighthouse Foundation accompanied the
U.S. Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team South Portland on a site visit
to Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse in Casco Bay, Maine, on February 23,
2006. The purpose of the visit was to enable ALF to obtain a firsthand
look at the light’s current condition and to gather preliminary
information that can be used as helpful documentation in planning for a
professional engineering study to be conducted at the site in the
future. Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse came under the stewardship of the
American Lighthouse Foundation in fall 2005.
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Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont
Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse, Casco
Bay, Maine
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Simply getting on the ledge where the lighthouse is located proved to be an
interesting challenge as an outgoing tide and 2 to 3 foot swells didn’t make
it any easier to avoid the many dangerous sections of the ledge submerged
just below the waterline. Though the lighthouse has an elevated pier, the
ladder access to the landing structure is long gone, making it necessary for
the Coast Guard to land on the exposed ledge in order to access the site.
Anyone familiar with landing at an offshore location knows that when its
time to get safely off the boat – you get off with no hesitation, even if it
means getting a little wet in the process.
On this day, crewmembers would be forced to disembark the 21-foot boat in
the water since it was impossible for the coxswain to nose up |
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Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont
Landing at Ram Island Ledge Light was
anything but an easy task
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safely on the jagged ledge. ALF historian
Jeremy D’Entremont touched on the difficulties landing at the
lighthouse, saying, “A visit here underscores the challenges inherent in
offshore lighthouse preservation. It’s a fairly major ordeal to get on
the ledge and inside the tower. It |
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takes an
experienced crew to safely land at the ledge, and visitors have to be in
fairly good physical condition to disembark and climb the tall ladder.”
Once on the ledge, Coast Guard personnel and the ALF team made their way
across the uneven barnacle-covered ledge to the base of the lighthouse. To
enter Ram Island Ledge Light one must be prepared to climb a ladder that
scales the mighty structure over 30 feet straight up the side of the tower.
ALF executive director Bob Trapani noted, “The climb up the side of the
tower is not for the faint of heart. It is quite an experience looking down
and seeing the ledge fall away further below you with each upward step.”
The interior of the lighthouse was amazingly well preserved given the fact
that the last keepers left the beacon 47 years ago during the |
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automation
process in 1959. One of the more fascinating aspects of Ram Island Ledge
Lighthouse was the fact that the granite tower has a solid core at least
one-third the way up the structure. The first level is located at a
point within the tower where most lights would contain their third or
fourth levels. The first level of Ram Island Ledge was used as a storage
area for the keepers and was where the cisterns containing their
drinking water were located.
There was
water leakage visible on a few interior levels that has stained the
white tile walls |
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
The access ladder that scales the
lighthouse about one-third the way
up the 90-foot tower
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and “softened” aspects of the wood floors, but there were no obvious signs
of mold outside of what is typically found within window frames. Another
fascinating aspect of the site visit was seeing the elaborate pedestal
system that remains inside the beacon, which at one time supported the
light’s beautiful third order Fresnel lens. The lantern itself was just as
impressive. The area was huge and contained a full-length door leading to
the exterior gallery surrounding the lantern. The modern acrylic optic might
have seemed “lost” inside the large circular glass room but the area
certainly afforded a wonderful panoramic view of Casco Bay.
Though only the Coast Guard’s aids to navigation equipment remains inside
the structure, it’s not hard to imagine what it must have been |
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Photo by Tommy Dutton
A view of the entrance door to the
lighthouse, which is located well above the sea
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like for keepers to be stationed at this
lonely outpost where they could be confined inside the tower for weeks
on end. Jeremy D’Entremont elaborated on this thought, noting, “During
our visit to this offshore station, I thought often of the keepers who
lived and worked here. |
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Although this is a
relatively recent lighthouse, established in 1905, the living conditions
were harsh, cramped, and primitive.”
D’Entremont went on to say, “Joe Johansen, an assistant keeper in 1949-50,
once said, ‘You could have been living in the 1800s because, other than the
link with the radio, there were no conveniences at all. Nothing.’ It must
have been treacherous at times getting on and off the lighthouse in a small
boat, but the tower itself feels solid and immoveable. I don’t think the
keepers ever feared for their lives inside this tower during storms, as
keepers did in some other wave swept towers that weren’t so solidly built.”
Finding a creative educational use for the lighthouse that will increase its
public awareness and appreciation is vitally important to the |
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preservation efforts. “This will never be a location where
cash-generating tours or overnight stays can be offered,” says
D’Entremont. “It will take creative fundraising to keep the tower in top
shape. The good news is that the interior is surprisingly well
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Water leakage has damaged and stained
certain spots inside the lighthouse
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preserved. A few
years ago I visited the nearly identical Graves Light in Boston Harbor,
which is in worse shape inside although it was automated more recently. All
the same, getting this lighthouse into like-new condition again will be very
expensive due to the logistics of landing workers and materials.”
Despite the
challenges to restoration at the site, the lighthouse is well worth every
preservation effort made by the American Lighthouse Foundation moving
forward to ensure the rugged icon of Casco Bay |
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Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
The modern light warns mariners of the
dangerous Ram Island Ledge in Casco Bay
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shines on for future generations. “Ram
Island Ledge Lighthouse may not be the most glamorous looking structure
but there is something awesome about it, especially the sense of
strength the tower exudes,” says Bob Trapani. “The sentinel has absorbed
the sea’s massive pounding for |
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over a century yet
its firm hold on the ledge it guards against remains as strong as ever. In
an ever-changing world where things are here today and gone tomorrow, Ram
Island Ledge Light is just the opposite – a true constant. The tower is a
symbol of steadfast duty year after year and through all kinds of storms. We
must do our part as the keepers to help this beacon remain strong – a task
the American Lighthouse Foundation is honored to be a part of.”
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