Exposed to two centuries of wind, salt air, storms and exposure, and difficult to access for repairs, the lighthouse is suffering from cracking masonry, crumbling surface material and failing paint that threaten the structure and visitor safety.
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A historic lighthouse on a rocky island off the coast of Acadia National Park has guided mariners to safety for over 200 years.
Now the structure itself will get some much-needed care, thanks to $400,000 raised by Bar Harbor nonprofit Friends of Acadia.
Deteriorating lead paint, broken windows and stairs, rusted railings, cracking masonry and crumbling surface material are key focus areas of a restoration plan for Baker Island Lighthouse and related structures.
“For generations, Baker Island Lighthouse has stood as a symbol of safety, resilience and connection,” said Eric Stiles, the nonprofit’s president and CEO.
Built in 1828, the lighthouse is on the 162-acre Baker Island, the majority of which has been owned by Acadia since 1967. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, the light remains active. The tower was awarded to the National Park Service in 2011.
Baker Island is one of the five Cranberry Islands off Mount Desert Island. The light stands at the southwestern entrance to Frenchman Bay. Visitors can get there by private boat or water taxi — although there are no restroom facilities or drinking water on the island.
The National Park Service doesn't keep tabs on how many of Acadia's 4 million visitors take a boat out to Baker.
Harsh conditions
The infrastructure includes a brick lighthouse tower, keeper’s house and surrounding historic features.
But exposed to harsh marine conditions — nearly two centuries of wind, salt air, storms and exposure — and difficult to access for repairs, the lighthouse tower is suffering from significant deterioration, the nonprofit said.
A National Park Service assessment revealed cracking masonry, crumbling surface material and failing paint that threaten the structure and visitor safety.
The nonprofit Keepers of Baker Island has helped with stewardship and repairs. Brush clearing restored views of the lighthouse, the oil house roof was replaced, asbestos was removed and two houses were stabilized. The National Park Service secured funding for lead paint remediation as a next step.
The most urgent need now is rehabilitation of the lighthouse tower, the nonprofit said. The work will include specialized masonry repairs, restoration of window openings and ventilation and safety improvements, all performed according to the federal government’s standards for historic preservation. Stabilizing the tower now will protect 19th-century craftsmanship.
Specialized repairs
The $400,000 raised by Friends of Acadia will primarily support rehabilitation of the lighthouse tower, including specialized masonry repairs, restoration of historic window openings and ventilation and safety improvements, Perrin Doniger, Friends of Acadia’s vice president of communications and marketing, told Mainebiz.
The nonprofit has supported historic structure work in the park in past years, which has included some previous work on the lighthouse complex.
The work will be done primarily by the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center, a government office in Frederick, Md., that utilizes historic preservation projects as the main vehicle for teaching preservation philosophy and building crafts, technology and project management skills, according to its website.
The Keepers of Baker Island have also played a role in maintenance of the island and lighthouse structures, Doniger noted.
The timeline for the project is still being determined. Working on an island requires logistical planning. Several years ago, materials to build a new field research station on Hurricane Island, off Rockland, came on about 15 trips made by landing craft.
“The materials will need to be brought out by boat,” said Doniger. “Previously, Friends of Acadia donated a Munson 26-foot Packman Landing Craft to Acadia National Park, named Friendship. This boat helps park rangers safely transport staff, materials and equipment directly onto remote shorelines for island management and maintenance and will be important for this project.”
