National Register of Historic Places

Perkins Island Light Station

Georgetown, Sagadahoc County, Maine
Listed
January 21, 1988
Type
District
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
87002282

About this property

Perkins Island Light is a lighthouse on the Kennebec River in Maine. It was established in 1898, as part of a major upgrade of the river's lights — the Doubling Point Light and the separate Range Lights on the point, Perkins Island Light, and Squirrel Point Light were all built at the same time. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Perkins Island Light Station in 1988. Perkins Island is a small, predominantly wooded island in the southern reaches of the Kennebec River, on the west side of Georgetown Island. It has a teardrop shape, oriented north–south, with the light station located at the westernmost part of the island. The station consists of a tower, keeper's house, barn, bell house, and oil house. The tower is a tapered octagonal wood-frame structure, with its exterior clad in wooden shingles. The lantern light stands 17 feet (5.2 m) above its base, in an octagonal lanternhouse with a surrounding exterior gallery. The keeper's house is a 2+1⁄2-story L-shaped wood-frame structure, with a cross-gabled roof and wooden shingle exterior. To its north stands a small wood-frame barn, also with a gabled roof and shingled exterior. To the south of the tower stands the oil house, a small brock gable-roofed structure. The bell tower is a pyramidal structure covered in shingles, standing near the shore south of the tower. The light station was authorized by Congress in 1895, following recommendations by the Lighthouse Board in 1892 that the Kennebec River's aids to navigation be improved. The tower, barn, and keeper's house were completed in 1898, the year the light went into service. The station also originally included a boathouse, which has not survived. The bell tower was added in 1902, and the oil house was added in 1906. The station was automated in 1959, and most of the buildings were transferred to the state in the 1960s. The light continues to serve as an active aid to navigation. National Register of Historic Places listings in Sagadahoc County, Maine

Location

Georgetown, Sagadahoc County, Maine
43.78672, -69.78531

Categories

ENGINEERINGTRANSPORTATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Stone Schoolhouse
Industrial
1.2 mi
Percy District School House, (Former)
Industrial
1.5 mi
Fort Popham Memorial
Early Republic
2.2 mi
Squirrel Point Light Station
Listed
2.2 mi
Fort Baldwin Historic Site
Early Republic
2.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Perkins Island Light Station listed on the National Register?

Perkins Island Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1988.

What type of historic resource is Perkins Island Light Station?

Perkins Island Light Station is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Perkins Island Light Station?

The period of significance for Perkins Island Light Station is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Perkins Island Light Station?

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