Ram Island Ledge Light Station
About this property
Ram Island Ledge Light is a lighthouse off Cape Elizabeth, Maine, United States, marking the northern end of the main channel leading the harbor of Portland, Maine. The Ram Island Ledges are a series of stone ledges, some of which break the waters at the southern end of Casco Bay, a short way south of Cushing Island. In 1855 an iron spindle was erected to protect sailors from these dangerous underwater ledges. The ledge continued to be the site of repeated shipwrecks. On February 24, 1900, the Allan Line steamship Californian (formerly named the State of California) ran aground on the ledge while en route from Portland to Glasgow, Scotland via Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a result of that accident, the United States Congress appropriated funds to build a lighthouse. Construction began on May 1, 1903, and was completed in 1905. It is a twin of the Graves Light off Boston. The lighthouse was built of granite quarried from Vinalhaven, Maine. The lighthouse originally included a third-order Fresnel lens. The lighthouse was electrified in 1958, and then automated in 1959. The light was converted to solar power in January 2001. The Ram Island Ledge Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Ram Island Ledge Light Station on March 14, 1988, reference number 88000157. In July 2010, Ram Island Ledge Light was put up for sale to the general public. The minimum bid was $10,000. The property had initially been made available at no charge to other government agencies, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations, but no interest was shown, so bids were opened to the general public. The winning bid, $190,000, came from Jeffrey Florman, a surgeon and resident of Windham, Maine. National Register of Historic Places listings in Cumberland County, Maine
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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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Questions about this property
When was Ram Island Ledge Light Station listed on the National Register?
Ram Island Ledge Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 14, 1988.
What type of historic resource is Ram Island Ledge Light Station?
Ram Island Ledge Light Station is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Ram Island Ledge Light Station?
The period of significance for Ram Island Ledge Light Station is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Ram Island Ledge Light Station?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Ram Island Ledge Light Station will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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