In 1602, explorer Bartholomew Gosnold met with local Indians on the island and dubbed it “Savage Rock”
Built on an island – a nub of rock – hence Nubble
Congress appropriated $15,000 for the building of a lighthouse on the Nubble in 1874
1877 Construction Began
Finished 1879, first lit July 1, 1879
1910 covered walkways added
Bell tower built 1911 – taken down in 1961
Two outbuildings and a boat house on island
Red Fuel house built 1909
White workshop & storage house 1910
First boat house built 1888 – three destroyed by storms, present boat house 1978
The first birth of a child at the Nubble occurred on August 23, 1923
Travel over by pea pods – a two ended boat until 1945
Today travel is by row boat
Tower 41 feet high, 88 feet above high water mark, 13 feet in diameter – brick construction, 18 inches thick, covered by wrap around iron sheathing, cement was poured between brick and iron sheathing
Circular stairway, 33 steel steps in tower to first landing
First landing with portholes used for storage or sleeping quarters during storms
Eight iron ladder steps lead to lens room
Light enclosed in eight layers of glass prisms in brass frame
Fourth order Fresnel lens – Lens and light enclosed in red plexiglass – The present lens was manufactured in 1891 by F. Barbier in Paris – Powered by 1,000 watt bulb with backup
Signal is three seconds on, three seconds off
13 nautical mile range in clear weather
Fog horn automated – runs by atmosphere
Sounds one blast every ten seconds
Living quarters in seven room house – three bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, laundry room or pantry
Bathroom was a saltwater flush
Water supply is rain (collected during storms)
4,000 gallon storage tanks in cellar
House formerly heated by coal, then oil – a 2,000 gallon diesel fuel tank (now removed) fed a 275 gallon oil tank in cellar
Nathaniel Otterson – first official keeper 1879
Russell Ahlgren – last keeper 1987
World War I and World War II – island occupied with military personnel
Light shut off temporarily during World War II – A contingent of Coast Guardsmen kept a 24-hour eye out for German U-boats
Sohier Park, incidentally, is named for William Davis Sohier, a lawyer from Boston who gave the land to the town of York in 1929
Around 1967, Coast Guard keeper David Winchester put his two children in the bucket each morning to send them on their way to school
1987 electronic technology replaced keepers and Nubble Light was the last lighthouse in North America to be automated
1987 Town of York leased the property from the U.S. Coast Guard
1998 Town of York took title to Nubble Light
York, ME Parks and Recreation Department maintains the property
Nubble Light is one of the most photographed and visited lighthouses in America
No one is allowed on the island without special permission
Nubble Light is the symbol and trademark of the greater Yorks
The Nubble Light has probably appeared on more postcards, calendars, and other souvenirs than any other New England lighthouse. In 1977, when NASA sent Voyager II into space to photograph the outer solar system, it was also loaded with artifacts. One of the images it carried was a picture of the Nubble Light.
Nubble Light and Sohier Park donations (upkeep and restoration of Lighthouse, Park and New Gift Shop) – Checks Payable to: Town of York Sohier Park Fundraising 186 York Street York, ME 03909