Digest>Archives> Jan/Feb 2015

Makeover At Little River Lighthouse

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The Little River Lighthouse Station in Cutler, Maine looks brand new now that the painting and restoration project has been completed.

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Removing flaking paint and rust from the tower.
Photo by: Terry Rowden

This project was accomplished strictly through the efforts of the Friends of Little River Lighthouse from donations of supporters and volunteer work, as well as a major grant from the Davis Family Foundation, financial assistance from the Ellsworth Building Supply (EBS) in Machias, Maine, and donated paint from the Benjamin Moore Paint Co. The storm windows were repaired from a donation from Machias Glass of Machias, Maine. The painting was done by Bert Preston Painting, who specializes in historic preservation painting projects. Volunteer Terry Rowden, a former Coast Guard keeper of the lighthouse, painted the lantern room.

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Sanding and painting the front porch. The front ...
Photo by: Timothy Harrison

The alligator look, caused by years of partial scraping and repainting on the house, is now gone, rotten clapboards were replaced, the front porch deck was jacked back into place, rust from the tower’s exterior was removed, and storm windows were painted and repaired. Additionally, chimney repairs were begun that will be completed in the spring.

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During the scraping and removal of years of old ...
Photo by: Terry Rowden

Terry Rowden also spent close to eight weeks on the island working with the painters, and during that time he chained-sawed and cleared years of fallen trees from both sides of the lower walkway that leads from the boat house and up and over the island to the lighthouse. He said that he made at estimated 300 trips with the tractor pulling a wagon full of brush and logs from one side of the island to the other where, with a special permit, he burned the wood. The cleared area now looks like a tree-studded park. Rowden also dug up and removed numerous boulders that had begun to surface from years of frost heaves on the lawn. However, the lawn maintenance will be completed in the spring.

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Part of the team. Left to right: Matthew Maguire ...
Photo by: Kathleen Finnegan

The board members of the Friends of Little River Lighthouse who oversaw the project and who also helped with some of the volunteer work were Dave Corbett, Cynthia Rowden, Cheryl Corbett, Timothy Harrison, Richard Knight, Kathleen Finnegan, and Judy Corbett.

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Oceanside view of the house that also shows the ...
Photo by: Timothy Harrison

Little River Lighthouse is located on a remote 15-acre island off the bold coast of Cutler, Maine and was once considered by Maine Preservation as one of the Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties in Maine. When Timothy Harrison was president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, he was able to secure ownership of the island light on July 27, 2002 for the American Lighthouse Foundation under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act (NHLPA). It was the first lighthouse in the New England States and the third lighthouse in the nation to have its ownership transferred from the federal government to a nonprofit under the NHLPA.

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Prepping the tower with a special rust inhibitor ...
Photo by: Timothy Harrison

Recent years have seen the island host community church services, overnight stays, school group visits, weddings, Boy Scout encampments, family reunions and many other community events, including two annual Open Houses.

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During the removal of the paint from under the ...
Photo by: Terry Rowden


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Matt Maguire of Benjamin Moore Paint Co, (l), and ...
Photo by: Kathleen Finnegan


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Some jokingly thought that the tower should be ...
Photo by: Terry Rowden


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The newly painted tower.
Photo by: Kathleen Finnegan


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The view from the walkway that leads to the ...
Photo by: Kathleen Finnegan


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The view from the walkway that leads to the ...
Photo by: Kathleen Finnegan


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Refreshed and refurbished - still guiding the ...
Photo by: Kathleen Finnegan

This story appeared in the Jan/Feb 2015 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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