Notes:
(1) Cape Neddick Light was built to mark the Nubble Rock near the entrance to the York River.

      Nubble Rock is small rock island 160-feet offshore from the eastern most point of Cape Neddick near York Beach, Maine.  As early as 1807, mariners requested a Lighthouse on the Nubble.  The Lighthouse Service denied a 1837 proposal based upon three Lighthouses guarded the region, Boon Island Light, Whaleback Light, and Portsmouth Harbor Light.

      In the early 1800’s, York was a prosperous shipping township, dependent on trade and fishing.  Boon Island Light, located 8-miles off the coast of York, was built in 1799 for the safety of coastal traders and local fishermen.  Trade ships from Boston and points south could safely sail into York Harbor upon sighting the Lighthouse at Boon Island.  Yet, local mariners sailing from the north of Cape Neddick en route to York Harbor were confronted with the hazardous Nubble Rock.

      After years of requests and shipwrecks*, Congress appropriated $15,000 for construction of a Lighthouse on the Nubble in 1874.  A 41-feet high by 13-feet in diameter brick-lined cast-iron Tower was First Lit on July 1, 1879 exhibiting a Fixed Red light illuminated by Fourth-order Fresnel Lens and Oil Lamp.  A 2-story Victorian Keeper’s House was also completed in 1879.

      The Light Station included a 3,000-pound Fog Bell operated by automatic striking machinery.  In 1902, a red brick Oil house was built and the Red Day-mark was changed when the tower was painted white.  In 1911, a walkway was constructed connecting the Lighthouse to the Keeper’s house and the original skeleton frame bell tower was replaced by a white pyramidal Bell tower.  The Fog Bell was eventually replaced by a diaphragm Fog Horn and the white pyramidal Bell tower was demolished in 1961.

      For many years, Light Keepers used a bucket fastened to a line across the channel for transporting supplies from the mainland to the Lighthouse station.  Later, a cable trolley from Sohier Park to Nubble island was used by the Coast Guard.  At low tide, Light Keepers were able to walk across the bar between the mainland and the Nubble.  In 1938, Cape Neddick Light was converted from fuel oil to electricity.

      On July 13, 1987, Cape Neddick Light was automated as 300 spectators witnessed the ceremony in dense fog.  In 1989, the United States Coast Guard leased the Lighthouse to the Town of York.  In 1997, the Town of York voted to own Nubble Lighthouse and ownership of the Lighthouse was transferred to the town under the Maine Lights Program on June 20, 1998.

*A noteworthy shipwreck occurred in 1842 when the bark, Isidore was wrecked near Bald Head Cliff, north of Nubble Rock.  According to legend, the Isidore continues to reappear as a ghost ship sailed by a phantom crew.



      The lighthouse is a popular tourist destination and Sohier Park on the mainland across from the Nubble Rock has been a popular romantic location.  A estimated 250,000 people visit the park to view Nubble Lighthouse annually.  Furthermore, the cove to the northeast of Nubble Light is a excellent and exceptionally popular Dive Site!

      The annual Christmas Lighting of Nubble Light, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, packs Sohier Park with hundreds of visitors. The Isles of Shoals Steamship Company offers a “Lighting of the Nubble Cruise.”  Cape Neddick Light is one of the most-photographed Maine Lighthouses with a picturesque view of Nubble Light on a rocky bluff 88-feet above the breakers below.

      Although several sources claim photos of the Nubble Lighthouse was included on the Gold Record launched with the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions in 1977, there is no evidence from official NASA sources to support those claims.  Of the 115 images encoded in analog form, the only photograph shot in New England was a old house not a Lighthouse.  For a complete list of Photos, please visit the NASA Image Index.

      In 2001, the bluegrass band, Nickel Creek, filmed a music video for their “The Lighthouse’s Tale” song at Sohier Park in front of the Nubble Light.  Country Music TV (CMT) began airing the video in October 2001.  To see their video, visit the CMT TV Schedule page.

(2) Emergency light of reduced intensity when main light is extinguished.

(3) The original Fresnel Lens was damaged by a explosion in 1928 and replaced with a Lens manufactured in 1891 from another Lighthouse.

(4) Directions from I-95 in Maine:
Take Exit 4 (US-1/The Yorks/ME-91/Ogunquit exit), Keep Right at the fork in the ramp, Turn Left onto US-1 (Blue Star Memorial Hwy), Turn Right onto Main St/US-1A, Travel straight onto Ocean Ave/US-1A, Turn Left onto Nubble Road and travel 1-mile to Sohier Park.

      Sohier Park has free parking, a gift shop, and public restrooms.  You can view the Lighthouse from any location in the park.  Both the Lighthouse and Nubble Island are closed to the public.

      After the park to the north, there is a year-round oceanside Inn, the ViewPoint, with exceptional views of the Nubble Lighthouse.

For Inn information and reservations, visit The ViewPoint
For Directions to the Inn, visit Mapquest and enter: