This lighthouse also has the distinction of being the easternmost light in the United States, standing on the easternmost point of land in the United States. Today a National Historic Site, the station is still active, with the light still shining out to sea to warn seafarers of the dangers nearby. The rest of the site, though, has become a visitor centre, operated by the
West Quoddy Head Light Keepers Association.
It somehow seems strange that the easternmost point in the US should be at
West Quoddy Head. Regardless, that is how it came to be named. At West Quoddy Head are Quoddy Head State Park and the Quoddy Head Lighthouse, known officially as the West Quoddy Head Light Station.
The lighthouse at West Quoddy Head has the distinction of being the easternmost light in the United States, standing on the easternmost point of land in the United States. Today a National Historic Site, the station is still active, with the light still shining out to sea to warn seafarers of the dangers nearby. The rest of the site, though, has become a museum and visitor centre, operated by the
West Quoddy Head Light Keepers Association.
The museum/visitor centre
offers a range of interactive historic exhibits including information about the coast guard, the light tower and surrounding ecology and fishing and shipping industries that have defined the area for hundreds of years. As well as the information and historical displays to be found in the museum building (once the light keeper's quarters), tours of the grounds and the tower itself are available when the museum is open which, unfortunately, it was not when we visited. In lieu of personally visiting the museum and the lighthouse, the West Quoddy Head Light Keepers are offering a
Virtual Tour of the entire site. As well, the museum houses a gallery, through which they sell artworks by local artists to fund raise for the museum. In the gallery one may find photography, oils, acrylics, watercolors, art cards, wood prints and metal art.
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| View from West Quoddy Light |
QUODDY HEAD
STATE PARK
A lighthouse beacon and fog signal have guided ships through the Quoddy Narrows between Campobello and West Quoddy Head since 1808. The present brick, red-and-white banded lighthouse was built in 1858. The beacon, 83 feet above sea level, can be seen from 20 miles at sea on a clear night. A radio beacon from the lighthouse serves as a navigational aid. A whistle or groaner buoy, located one mile offshore sounds a warning for Sail Rock.
West Quoddy Head Light looks over the islands of two nations. Campobello, The Wolves and Grand Manan lie in Canada. Sail Rock, which reportedly caused many shipwrecks off these shores, belongs to the United States.
Finback, minke, humpback and northern right whales migrate here each summer from their winter habitats off the southern coast of North America and the north-eastern coast of South America. They find these waters rich with food, such as herring, mackerel and microscopic plant and animal life. Studies show that northern right whales mate, and northern rights and finbacks calve in this part of the Bay of Fundy.
These whales can be recognized by the distinctive shapes of their dorsal fins and tails. When exhaling, whales also emit a characteristic "blow", which aids in identification.
The waters off West Quoddy Head peninsula form part of the open end of Canada's Bay of Fundy, which lies between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The shape of the Bay of Fundy causes extremely high tides. At West Quoddy Head, tides rise and fall an average of 15.8 feet in six hours. The cool, nutrient-rich waters host abundant marine life in the large intertidal zone. Northern types of seaweed are found here, along with arctic clams and snails, anemones and sea stars.
Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, lies about ten miles southeast of West Quoddy Head and, on clear days, can be seen from many points on the park's shoreline. Grand Manan is famous for spectacular rock cliffs along its west shore that rise 200 to 400 feet. The island was first settled by British Loyalists who fled the American Revolution. Today, as in the past, Grand Manan's population of about 2,300 lives on the island's east coast, where fishing for herring, cod and lobster is a way of life.
From a plaque in the park
The entry from the American Guide Series book
Maine: A Guide 'Down East' follows.
Right on the local gravel road is West Quoddy Head (alt. 40), 8 m., the most easterly point of the United States, where a Coast Guard station and a lighthouse are maintained. From this point the high cliffs of Grand Manan Island are visible on a clear day.
From Maine: A Guide 'Down East', Page 277