Photograph by Laurence Parent
This thirty-foot brick tower isn’t the most famous lighthouse in the harbor it protects, which is something of a surprise, considering the notoriety it has achieved since it was built in 1826. Soaring one hundred feet above the crashing surf, this white beacon is said to be haunted by a pair of benevolent ghosts, which has attracted magazines, newspapers, and TV shows to this headland. One spirit is a former sea captain, said to keep the brass polished; the other is a woman known as “the little lady,” who spends her time in the kitchen. Their fame is rivaled only by that of another former resident, a springer spaniel named Spot, who lived here in the 1930s. Spot proved a big help to the light-keeper because he learned how to ring the fog bell. The talented pooch was a favorite of sea captains far and wide, especially since the pilot of the local mailboat would have run aground in a storm if it hadn’t been for Spot’s incessant barking. This light is not yet open to the public — only the grounds are. But the American Lighthouse Foundation, which assumed control of the beacon and its historic Fresnel lens in 2007, is working to change that. Have you ever visited the picnic area here? Send us a note at P.O. Box 679, Camden, ME 04843; fire off an email to editorial@downeast.com, or post a comment at DownEast.com if you can identify this storied lighthouse.