Notes:
(1) Boon Island Light was the Twelfth Massachusetts Lighthouse* built to mark Boon Island for the safe passage of coastal trading and local fishing.

      The town of York was a prosperous shipping center established by trade and fishing until the Embargo of 1807, which grounded all of America’s shipping.  Boon Island, 8-miles off the coast of York, is a 700-feet long narrow barren rock ledge barely exposed above the surface of the sea that is extremely hazardous to shipping.

      In 1797, the Boston Marine Society and Lighthouse superintendent, General Benjamin Lincoln, met to determine the need for a Lighthouse on Boon Island for the safety of coastal traders from Boston to York, and local fishermen.  Congress appropriated $400 and President John Adams approved construction of the Lighthouse on March 2, 1799.

      A 50-feet wooden Boon Island Lighthouse was built in 1799. The first Tower washed away in the severe storm of October 9, 1804.  A stone beacon was constructed in 1805.

      A new Lighthouse was approved by President James Madison based upon General Benjamin Lincoln recommendation in 1811.  The new Boon Island Lighthouse was completed in 1812 and exhibited a Fixed Light 32-feet above sea level.  A severe storm in 1831 washed away most of the Lighthouse and another tower was authorized by Fifth Auditor, Stephen Pleasonton.  The Lighthouse was rebuilt at a cost of $4,000 and again exhibited a Fixed Light 32-feet above sea level.

      In 1852, Congress authorized the present Boon Island Light at a cost of $25,000.  A 25-feet in diameter at the base by 133-feet high Conical Granite Tower was constructed between 1852 and 1854 as the the tallest New England Lighthouse.  In 1854, another $19,973 was appropriated for procuring the illuminating apparatus and completing the Light-house tower.  The new Lighthouse was First Lit on January 1, 1855 exhibiting a Fixed light illuminated by Second-order Fresnel Lens and Oil Lamp.

      Just prior to the Civil War, York became a prosperous seaside resort with the construction of a railroad and a streetcar line.  After the war, Edward Marshall built one of Maine’s first big hotels, the Marshall House.  The Lighthouse was important to shipping from Portland Harbor to points south as well as local mariners.

      The February Blizzard of 1978, one of New England’s worst snow storms, flooded the Keeper’s house to a depth of five feet forcing the Coast Guard Keepers to seek refuge in the Tower’s lantern room.  The fierce storm washed away the supply building and the boat house, and boulders were wave-swept around as if they were pebbles destroying the Keeper’s house.  The Keepers were rescued by helicopter on the following day and the storm caused a estimated $100,000 damage to the Light Station.  Boon Island Light was repaired and later automated in 1980.

      In 1993, the Second-order Fresnel lens was replaced by a modern solar-powered Vega VRB-25 Aerobeacon.  Since April 2000, the Fresnel lens has been displayed at the Kittery Historical and Naval Museum in honor of the many Light Keepers at Boon Island who were also natives of Kittery, Maine.

      In May 2000, the U.S. Coast Guard leased Boon Island Lighthouse to the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) for the restoration and preservation of the historic isolated Sea Sentinel.

      In a effort to raise funds to restore and maintain the remote Lighthouse, a fictional Lighthouse nation declared its independence as The Republic of Boon Island on April 1, 2003.  Aboard the April Fools cruise, Tim Harrison, ALF President and self-proclaimed Regent Lord Master of Boon Island, declared the island a sovereign nation by reading a declaration of independence in order to seriously sell Citizenships for a $25 donation and political offices with a maximum $100,000 donation for the Presidency.

*The Lighthouse was ceded to Maine on Mar 15, 1820.  According to custom, Boon Island was named by a group of shipwrecked sailors, who considered their rescue to be a great boon in 1682.  Severe sea storms and fog have caused numerous shipwrecks at Boon Island from 1682 to 1799.  On December 11, 1710, the British ship Nottingham Galley was shipwrecked on Boon Island leaving two men dead and the survivors resorted to cannibalism after striving to live for three weeks.  After the wreck of the Nottingham Galley, local fishermen stocked Boon Island with provisions of food and clothing for future survivors of shipwrecks.

(2) Boon Island Light was destroyed by Oct 9, 1804 and 1831 Storms.
      The current Tower was constructed from 1852 to 1855.

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

(4) Optic was refitted with a Second-order Fresnel Lens in 1855.
      The Second-order Fresnel Lens is on Display at Kittery Historical and Naval Museum, Kittery, Maine

(5) Solar-powered

(6) David Oliver quit after a few weeks due to the desolated, isolated, and dangerous low location of the Light.
      Thomas Hanna replaced him and tended the Light for 5-years before resigning due to the exceedingly hazardous assignment.  Due to the adverse conditions, most Light Keepers served five years or less at Boon Island Light.  Captain William C. Williams was the only Light Keeper with exceptional fortitude to serve for 27 years from 1885 to 1911 at the Lighthouse.

(7) 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 Nubble Lighthouse from any location in the park.  Both the Lighthouse and Nubble Island are closed to the public.

      On the horizon to the right of Nubble Light, a distant view of Boon Island Light can be seen with binoculars on a clear day.  Boon Island Lighthouse is best viewed by boat.