The U.S. state of Maine is located in the northeastern corner of the nation. The rugged, deeply indented coast of the state has about 70 lighthouses, covered by the Directory on two pages. This page includes lighthouses of the eastern coast of Maine from the Penobscot Bay islands east to the Canadian border. This includes the area widely known in Maine as "Down East." Lighthouse preservation is very strong in Maine, as evidenced by the large number of local preservation societies and trusts. The Maine Lights program, passed by Congress in 1996, led to the transfer of 28 lighthouses from the Coast Guard to local preservation groups or other agencies and served as a model for the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. Except for eight privately-owned towers all but a handful of Maine's lighthouses now have local support groups. In addition two powerful national forces for lighthouse preservation, the American Lighthouse Foundation and Lighthouse Digest magazine, are based in Maine. Aids to navigation in Maine are maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard First District but ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in many cases. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volumes H and J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. USCG numbers are from Vol. I of the USCG Light List. For lights close to the Canadian border, CCG numbers are from the Atlantic Coast volume of the Canadian Coast Guard's List of Lights, Buoys and Fog Signals.
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Washington County Lighthouses
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![]() Lubec Channel Light, Lubec, December 2009 Flickr photo copyright Jeremy D'Entrement; used by permission |
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![]() Little River Light, Cutler, October 2007 Flickr photo copyright Jeremy D'Entremont; used by permission |
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![]() Libby Island Light, Machiasport, 2009 Flickr Creative Commons photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region |
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![]() Nash Island Light, Milbridge, July 2017 Flickr photo copyright Jeremy D'Entrement; used by permission |
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Hancock County Lighthouses
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![]() Baker Island Light, Acadia National Park, August 2012 Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Harvey Barrison |
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![]() Bass Harbor Head Light, Bass Harbor, June 2015 photo copyright Michael Rowlett; used by permission |
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![]() Burnt Coat Harbor Light, Swan's Island, 2015 photo courtesy of Fran Chetwynd, copyright Donna Weigle; used by permission |
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![]() Mark Island Light, Deer Island Thorofare, July 2007 Flickr photo copyright Jeremy D'Entremont; used by permission |
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![]() Dice Head Light, Castine, September 2014 ex-Panoramio Creative Commons photo by B.A. Bartlett |
Eastern Knox County Lighthouses
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Waldo County Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Southern New Brunswick | South: Southern Maine
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted May 16, 2001. Checked and revised April 14, 2021. Lighthouses: 37. Site copyright 2021 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.