Aerial view of Squirrel Point Lighthouse Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

As settlements grew in the area, the Kennebec became an increasingly important waterway. The Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board for 1892 noted the need for improved navigational aids on the river: “The Light-House Establishment maintains no lights or fog signals in the Kennebec, but the Kennebec Steam Company and the towboat companies have united for many years in maintaining lanterns hung on the buoys at turning points or other difficult places. The above facts establish, in the Board’s opinion, the necessity for and advisability of increasing the aids to navigation in the Kennebec River.”

Along with sites such as Perkins Island, the report recommended “at Squirrel Point a fixed red light from a lens lantern, with a white sector to the southward, at an estimated cost of $4,650.” Funding was appropriated in 1895 for lighting the Kennebec River, and the Squirrel Point Lighthouse, located on the southwest tip of Arrowsic Island, was finished in 1898. The 1898 Annual Report briefly describes the completed work: “The buildings consist of a frame tower, frame dwelling, and frame barn. The light is shown from a lens-lantern.” George Matthews was the first keeper at Squirrel Point serving from 1898 to 1912, after transferring to the station from Whitehead Lighthouse.

Subsequent annual reports noted improvements made at Squirrel Point: “A gallery with railing was built around the lantern, a boat slip and about 70 running feet of plank walks were built, and a concrete floor was laid in the cellar of the dwelling” (1899). “The act approved June 6, 1900, appropriated $1,620, to be applied in part to the erection of a boathouse at this station. Plans for the work are being made. Various repairs were made” (1900). “The $1,620 appropriated June 6, 1900, was applied in part to building a boathouse and boat slip. The barn and fuel house were moved nearer the dwelling, and a boundary fence was built” (1901).

Squirrel Point Lighthouse Photograph courtesy Library of Congress

The 1902 report recorded: “The intensity of the light was increased by changing the lens from a lens-lantern to a fifth-order [Fresnel] lens; a bell house and weight shaft were built on the tower, and a 1,000 pound fog-bell was established. The ledge was blasted out and a drainpipe laid in it from the dwelling to high-water mark.” An oil house was also added in 1906.

For a while, the keeper at the Kennebec River Range Light Station was given the added responsibility of keeping the Squirrel Point Lighthouse, until it was finally automated in 1979. In 1993, Mike Trenholm, a semi-retired realtor of Yarmouth, ME, saw the lighthouse for the first time as he cruised past on a bird-watching expedition. The following day, Trenholm contacted the Coast Guard regarding the lighthouse, and within six months his persistence resulted in a lease on the property. After forming a non-profit group called Squirrel Point Light Associates, Trenholm was awarded the lighthouse by an Act of Congress in 1996. The association received the official deed for the property in 1998 under the conditions that it be “used for educational, historic, recreational, cultural and wildlife conservation programs for the general public” and “maintained in a manner consistent with the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966."

Some people question how a person was able to obtain a lighthouse during a period when many Maine lighthouses were being included in the Maine Lights Program, but Trenholm notes that the deal “was up to the Coast Guard. They just put it on the floor of the Senate. There was nothing improper. It seems ridiculous that anybody thinks that there is."

A number of improvements were made to the property by Trenholm, but then in 1998 the property was reportedly placed on the market for an asking price of $500,000. The potential profiting from a lighthouse that was received at no cost sparked a quick and negative response. Trenholm claimed that the rumors of the sale were the result of “an overzealous Realtor” and maintained that he still intended to restore the property and use it for educational programs. This purported openness to the public, however, was not reflected in the “No Trespassing” signs that had recently been posted around the property.

At the time of the aborted sale in 1998, Trenholm said his health problems made the lighthouse seem like "a stone around my neck." After suffering further health setbacks, Trenholm tried to sell the property again in 2002 at a price of $375,000. In a letter sent to U.S. Senator Olympia Snow, local residents expressed their outrage regarding the sale. “We fear this Maine landmark is on the verge of being irreparably lost. We hope that you share our concern and take whatever action is necessary to ensure the preservation and continued access to the Squirrel Point Lighthouse, as well as prevent its inappropriate transfer for personal gain.” In his defense, Trenholm responded “The money I’m trying to get out of it is the money I’ve put into it. I’m not profiting. I’m just coming out of this about even.”

In April of 2003, Citizens for Squirrel Point, a Maine non-profit corporation, was formed to ensure that Squirrel Point Lighthouse was used and maintained in accordance with the covenants of its 1998 deed. Citing an October 2002 report by Maine’s State Historic Preservation Officer, the non-profit group filed a suit claiming the Squirrel Point Lighthouse was not being used or maintained in compliance with the deed and requesting that the property revert to the federal government. The Coast Guard was initially in favor of the property reverting to the government, but reversed its position in July of 2003 when the property went under contract for sale to retired Navy Rear Admiral Leonard, who intended to use the property as a seasonal residence.

In early 2005, U.S. Federal District Judge D. Brock Hornby sided with Citizens for Squirrel Point and ruled that ownership of the lighthouse and property should revert to the federal government. The lighthouse is expected to be offered through the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 to a legitimate non-profit, or a state or local government entity.

Squirrel Point is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains an active aid to navigation. The optic is now a modern 250mm lens. The historic fifth-order Fresnel lens now resides at the museum at the Portland Head Lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The foghorn is automated, with one blast every ten seconds.

References

1. Annual Report of the Light House Board.
2. “Potential sale of lighthouse begs answers,” Peter Pochna, Lighthouse Digest, January 1999.
3. “Bid to Sell Congressionally Transferred Maine Lighthouse Draws Probe and Criticism,” Lighthouse Digest, December, 2002.
4. “Suit Filed to Conserve Squirrel Point Light for the Public Benefit,” Lighthouse Digest, September, 2003.
5. “Judge Orders Lighthouse Back to Government,” Lighthouse Digest, April, 2005.
6. Lighthouses of Maine, Bill Caldwell, 1986.

To reach the lighthouse by land, from Highway 1 on the east side of the Kennebec River, take Highway 127 (Five Islands Road) south for roughly 4 miles to Bald Head Road. Turn right onto Bald Head Road and drive for about 3 miles where you will find a parking area and a footpath that leads south for just over a half mile to the lighthouse.