The United States of America is a federal union of 50 states and a capital district. The state of Maine is located in the northeastern corner of the nation bordering the Canadian provinces of Québec and New Brunswick. Originally part of Massachusetts, Maine was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state in 1820. Maine is divided into sixteen counties. This page includes lighthouses of the eastern coast of Maine from the Penobscot Bay islands east to the Canadian border, the area widely known in Maine as "Down East." It includes Washington, Hancock, and Waldo Counties and the eastern half of Knox County. The eastern coast of Maine is rugged and deeply indented, creating many small harbors and requiring many lighthouses. 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 a powerful national force for lighthouse preservation, the American Lighthouse Foundation, is based in Maine. Aids to navigation in Maine are maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England and its Aids to Navigation Team based at Southwest Harbor, but ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in most 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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![]() Moose Peak (Mistake Island) Light, Machiasport, July 2022 ex-Google Maps photo by Leo Costantino |
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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, October 2020 Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Maine Lights Today |
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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 June 2, 2025. Lighthouses: 37. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.