Lemuel Moody - Portland ME
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 43° 39.930 W 070° 14.897
19T E 399359 N 4835478
The man with the vision and the drive.
Waymark Code: WMKBR1
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 03/16/2014
Views: 3
County of marker: Cumberland County
Location of marker: 138 Congress St., Munjoy Hill, inside Portland Observatory, Portland
Marker erected by: Greater Portland Landmarks
"A ship's captain, Lemuel Moody (1767-1846), knew well the benefits of communication between a ship and merchants awaiting it. He promoted his visionary idea to construct a signal tower to a group of prominent Portland businessmen. Moody's enthusiasm attracted the investors needed to make his dream a reality. The project was a success, even tough in the Observatory's earliest years the Portland shipping industry had to endure the Embargo Act of 1807 (which kept European ships from U.S. ports for 14 months) and the War of 1812.
Captain Moody was a true entrepreneur. After building the Observatory he continued to develop the project by creating public entertainments at its base. He used his drawing and observation skills to make detailed charts of Portland and its harbor, which he then painted an soled to subscribers.
Although Moody was a public figure, active in many marine-related and community organizations, not much is known about his personal life. His extensive notes and records suggest that he made his work at the Observatory his life. Every day Moody would climb the tower, record the weather, and scan the horizon for ships. He devised elaborate systems for maritime signaling, and updated them regularly. When Moody died, his obituary noted that he had spent the day before making his "accustomed observations" from the tower, "thus making his final survey over the ocean ... before taking leave forever, to enter upon a brighter and a better world to which the telescope of his heart has long been directed."