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American Lighthouse Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 889
Wells, Maine 04090
207-646-0245
info@lighthousefoundation.org
The American Lighthouse Foundation is a
Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Organization dedicated to the
preservation of America's historic
lighthouses & lightships and
their heritage.
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Strout Family Donates Rare
Portland Head Lighthouse Artifacts
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Some of the most historically significant artifacts of
Maine’s lighthouse history and of Portland Head Light have been donated
to the Maine based nonprofit American Lighthouse Foundation.
The items were donated by the Strout family whose
ancestors served in the Lighthouse |
The
wreck of the Annie C. Macguire at
Portland
Head Light on Christmas Eve 1886
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Service for over
128 years with a little over 100 years of that service at Portland Head
Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Among the items donated is the original brass lamp that was in used to light
the lens in the lantern room of Portland Head Light on Christmas Eve 1886
the night of the famous wreck of the Annie C. Maguire, which crashed
on the rocks by the lighthouse.
Many people who visit Portland Head Light are familiar with the famous
memorial painted on the rocks at the lighthouse. Although it has been |
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The
original memorial of the wreck of
the
Annie C. Macguire painted on the rocks
at
Portland Head Light by John A. Strout.
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repainted over
the years it was originally painted by John A. Strout, a third
generation Strout to serve at Portland Head Light. He painted it in
1877, on his 21st birthday, the day he officially became an
assistant keeper at the lighthouse.
Also donated was the famous wooden model |
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replica of Portland Head Light that was built by Joseph W. Strout in the
late 1800’s for display on the roof of the keeper’s house at Portland Head
Light where it remained until he left the position of keeper in 1928.
Other items donated by the Stout family included a brass kerosene-measuring
cup with the insignia of the U. S. Lighthouse Service on it and |
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a brass whale oil container made by John Strout for use
at the lighthouse.
The donations of the artifacts were prompted by the
recent release of the book Portland Head Light A Pictorial Journey
Through Time, written by Timothy Harrison who is also the editor of
Lighthouse Digest magazine and president of the American Lighthouse
Foundation.
It was back in 1995 that John A Strout, Jr. met Harrison
and took a liking to him and was impressed in what he was trying to do
to save lighthouses and their history for future generations. In 1997
Strout wrote a story for Lighthouse Digest in which he stated, “There
was not a great estate left when Dad passed on, but there were great
memories, many cherished photographs and a sea chest full of memories.
This has become his legacy to me, far more enduring and |
The
brass lamp that was
used to
light the lens at
Portland
Head Light on the
night of
the wreck of the
Annie C
Macguire on
Christmas Eve 1886 which
was
donated to the
American
Lighthouse
Foundation
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treasured than
most heir’s inheritances.”
At that time he donated a number of photographs to Harrison with Harrison’s
promise that someday he would write a book on the history of Portland Head
Light. Unfortunately, John Strout died before the book would be published as
it took Harrison another nine years to locate additional information to
compile a detailed history of the lighthouse.
However, before he died he told his daughter Donna that after his death he
wanted the remaining artifacts to be donated to Harrison saying, |
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Patricia
Strout-Feno Donna Strout
and June
Strout with the replica
model of
Portland Head Light
made
by lighthouse keeper Joseph Strout in the 1800's that has now been
donated tothe American Lighthouse Foundation
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“He’s the only
person I trust for their future care.”
Donna said
they had tried to plan a trip to Maine from their home in Massachusetts
several times since the book came out and she had been communicating
with Harrison via email for some time, especially during the final
stages of the book.. Finally she was able to coordinate the trip with
her sister Patricia and their mother, June (John Strout’s widow) to make
the trip to Maine and officially donate the items to Harrison for the
American Lighthouse Foundation to preserve them.
Harrison said
the artifacts are among the most valuable in preserving and telling the
history |
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of Portland Head
Light that exist and eventually, “We will design a exhibit around these
artifacts to tell the story of the Strout family’s amazing 128 years of
lighthouse service.”
Capt. Joshua
Freeman Strout served as the keeper at Portland Head Light from 1869 to
1904. His wife Mary served as his assistant for ten of those years. His son
Joseph W. Strout became assistant keeper in 1877 and |
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served in that position until 1904 when he became the
Head Keeper of Portland Head Light, a position he held until his
retirement in 1928. Adding the few years that John Strout served as
Assistant Keeper of Portland Head Light you have 90 years of service.
When you add in the time that Joshua Freeman Strout’s mother worked as
the housekeeper at Portland Head Light, for a previous keeper before the
Strouts, you then have over 100 years of service just at Portland Head
Light. However, John Strout also served at other New England
Lighthouses, such as Spring Point Ledge Light in South Portland, as
well as at the Lighthouse Depot in Chelsea, Massachusetts, which gives
128 years of lighthouse service by the Strout family.
Other Strouts also served at other lighthouses. Len
Strout was the keeper at Portland Breakwater Light, known now as Bug
Light from 1866 to 1867, and Arthur Strout served as an assistant keeper
at Halfway Rock |
Portland
Head Lighthouse
keeper
Joseph W. Strout is
shown
here with his model of Portland Head Light that was on display atop the
keepers house
in
the late 1800's. The replica, although altered a few times
over
the years, its still mostly
the
original that was built by Joseph Strout that has now
been
donated to the American Lighthouse Foundation
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Lighthouse in Casco Bay from 1929 to 1934.
Before his death John Strout wrote that thanks to people like Harrison, his
magazine Lighthouse Digest, and nonprofit groups like the American
Lighthouse Foundation, “The heroic Lighthouse Keepers of Yesterday and their
brave women-folk will not be allowed to step into the past with stories
untold; stories of romance, adventure, loneliness and danger of the
service.”
The book, Portland Head
Light, by Timothy Harrison is available for $24.95 plus sales
tax on line from the American Lighthouse Foundation Gift Store or by calling
207-646-0245.
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Shown here
at the time of the donated artifacts
from
Portland Head Light by the Strout family are
left
to right, Kathleen Finnegan of the American
Lighthouse
Foundation, Patricia Strout-Feno,
Timothy
Harrison of the American Lighthouse
Foundation,
Donna Strout and seated is June Strout,
widow of
John A Strout, Jr.
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Posted: 12/11/06 |
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