Browns Head Light facts for kids
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 Browns Head Light
Location in Maine
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| Location | Browns Head, Vinalhaven, Maine |
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| Coordinates | 44°6′42.352″N 68°54′34.186″W / 44.11176444°N 68.90949611°W |
| Year first constructed | 1832 |
| Year first lit | 1857 (current structure) |
| Automated | 1987 |
| Tower shape | Cylindrical |
| Markings / pattern | White |
| Focal height | 39 feet (12 m) |
| Range | 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi) & 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi) |
| Characteristic | F W with 2 R sectors |
| Fog signal | HORN: 1 every 10s |
| USCG number | 1-3965 |
Browns Head Light is a cool lighthouse located in Vinalhaven, Maine. It helps ships find their way! This lighthouse was first set up in 1832. It still works today, guiding boats through the Fox Island Thoroughfare. This is a busy waterway between Vinalhaven Island and North Haven. The lighthouse you see now was built in 1857. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
About Browns Head Light
The town of Vinalhaven is on a big island in Penobscot Bay, Maine. This island has many small bays and points of land. It is just south of North Haven, another main island. These two islands are separated by the Fox Island Thoroughfare.
Browns Head is a point of land near the western entrance to this waterway. The lighthouse stands on its western shore. The lighthouse tower is round and made of strong granite. It has a six-sided top part where the light shines from. The tower is about 18 feet (5.5 m) tall. Its light shines about 37 feet (11 m) above the sea. This light can be seen from about 15 miles (24 km) away!
A short, covered walkway connects the lighthouse to the keeper's house. This house is a wooden building with one and a half stories.
History of the Lighthouse
A light station first started working at this spot in 1832. The lighthouse tower we see today was built in 1857. It first used a special Fresnel lens to make its light bright. This type of lens helps focus the light.
In 1987, the lighthouse became "automated." This means machines now run the light, so a keeper doesn't need to live there all the time. Browns Head Light is still an active guide for ships. It is a great example of a lighthouse complex built before the American Civil War.
