THE
I S S U E DAT E 11•21•17
BEACON
VOLUME 14 NO. 6
BY THE STUDENTS, FOR THE STUDENTS
History of Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse By Cassie Marceau
gallery brackets, beams, floor, landing platforms, ladders and ladder railings, needed to be assembled and inspected. A chisel was used to number We see it every day, but not many people the plates according to a system created by the know the history of our own lighthouse, Spring Board. Some of these numbers are still visible on Point Ledge Light. Here is a little history about the cylinder. Afterward it needed to be reassemthe creation of our lighthouse here at SMCC. bled on site and put into position at the end of By the late 1800s, Portland Harbor was busy the ledge, where it would be filled with cement. with schooners and steamships transporting Construction started August of 1896, with coal, food and fish to and from the city. There divers putting together the cast-iron caisson was also traffic between Portland and other East plates underwater. The work went smoothly unCoast cities, with a growing number of traveltil a storm on Sept. 6 deformed many of the 1 ers to the nearby islands, which were becoming 1⁄8-inch iron plates already in place. The damage more popular as vacation places. was around $5,000. Another setback was that By the time construction of Spring Point the time lost getting new iron plates from the Ledge Lighthouse had been approved, sevrolling mill in Pennsylvania, which took almost en steamship companies were carrying over a month, made people think if it would be done 500,000 passengers past the rock ledge. At the by December. After the wait for supplies, the same time, active military was also at Fort Preble in South Portland, Fort Scammel on House Photo by Troy Hudson work continued in October. Shortly after construction continued, Dwyer Island and Fort Gorges on Hog Island Ledge. became part of a dispute with the Lighthouse Several big shipwrecks on the ledge finally made Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse Board and the 1st Lighthouse District Engineer the steamship companies begin a campaign for a lighthouse to mark the ledge. The United States Light- house Board was into cast-iron construction, and probably over the cement used. While there is no indication that the house Board was finally persuaded in April 1891 to estab- chose a New York City contractor because of his experience. cement used was actually flawed, Dwyer was not allowed lish a fifth-order light at Spring Point Ledge. But it was not Experience allowed him to submit the lowest bid, beating to use materials that had not been tested and shown to be within specifications. He had filled the caisson with cement until March 1895 that an amount of $45,000 was approved out any local firms which might have competed. Before construction of the tower could begin, Dwyer without first submitting it for quality-control testing. Dwby the Board to begin construction. Thomas Dwyer of New York City received the contract was required to put together the three lower parts of the yer was penalized $300 for doing it. from the Lighthouse Board to build a cast-iron caisson cylinder in the shop for inspection. Then, they were taklighthouse of standard design. During this time, the Light- en down, and the remaining part of the shell, along with (Cont. on Page 2)
Buisness Club Hosts O.R.E.O. Obstacle Run
Photos Courtesy of SMCC Buisness Club Participants in the SMCC Business Club’s first-annual O.R.E.O. obstacle race running for a good cause on Willard Beach last Sunday, Nov. 12. The event brought in $750 that will be donated to help victims of hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. The full story can be read on Page 3.