Owl’s Head Light: Frozen in Time
While there are many majestic Maine lighthouses along the state’s rugged Atlantic coastline, one of the most overlooked is the one overlooking Rockland Harbor. Dubbed one of the most “picturesque lighthouses in Maine”, the small white brick tower sits high on a rocky headland near the entrance Rockland Harbor in the Town of Owl’s Head. Built in 1825 and automated over 100 years later in 1989, the 30-foot high station, and its Fourth Order Fresnel (1856), is still operating as an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation. Along with its fixed white light, the station’s fog signal emits two blasts every 20 seconds. Though not open to the public, the keeper’s house (1854) serves as housing for Coast Guard personnel. Two of the station’s most famous tales include man’s best friend and a pair of red hot lovers who almost came to an icy end. According to legend, a former keeper’s dog saved a mailboat in distress by “barking continuously” when the station’s fog bell was buried in snow. The other story tells of two lovers who became trapped in a storm-wrecked schooner. Huddling together to stay warm, and quite possibly to make the most from their last moments together, they froze solid within each others arms. The keeper found them in what was described as some form of “icy cocoon.” He managed not only to rescue them from their icy embrace, he thawed them out, they survived and they went on to get married! (Whether they went on to live happily ever after, is unknown.)
