Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, McKinley, ME

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, McKinley, ME

A photo on postcard stock: "Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, Bass harbor, (AKA McKinley), ME." The lighthouse and bell seen from the rocks below. Lighthouses--Maine Congress appropriated $5,000 for the construction of the Bass Harbor Head Light after it was determined that “sufficient need”existed to have a lighthouse near the entrance to Bass Harbor. This was followed by the addition of a fog bell and tower in 1876. However, this was replaced by a substantially larger 4,000 pound (1,800 kg) bell in 1898 when it was installed within the tower. Originally, there was no easy access via a boat landing until one was added in 1894. On January 21, 1988, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places, reference number 87002273, under the title of Bass Harbor Head Light Station. The United States Coast Guard number for this station is 1-2335. There are occasional tours of the lighthouse tower (only) offered through the Tremont Historical Society (see below). There is also a keeper's house that remains pretty much in its original form other than the addition of a 10 foot section that was added in 1900. However, the house currently serves as an actual full-time residence for a U.S. Coast Guard family. They, and the National Park Service, ask that their privacy be respected. The original lighthouse lens was a Fifth Order Fresnel. This was replaced by a Fourth Order Fresnel with a range of 13 nautical miles (15 miles or 24 km) in 1901.