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Making the eastern side of the south entrance to Port Clyde Harbor, this lighthouse was built in 1832. At that time the village of Port Clyde was a major port, with granite quarries, shipbuilding facilitites and fish canning operations. The initial structure was a 20-foot tall rubblestone tower. In 1857 the present 31-foot brick and granite lighthouse was built with a fifth-order Fresnel lens installed. The lighthouse is connected to the shore by a wooden walkway and resembles the Isle au Haut and Ram Island Lights. A bell tower with 1,000-pound bronze bell was added in 1898 and remained in use until it was replaced by a horn in 1969. The original 1832 keeper's house was destroyed by lightning in 1895 and replaced with the present dwelling.
In 1971 the light was automated, the Fresnel lens removed and a LORAN navigation station set up in the Keeper's house. When that equipment became outdated in 1980, the dwelling was boarded up. Subsequently, the property was acquired by the Town of St.George. Restoration of the structure was undertaken in 1986 by the Marshall Point Restoration Committee. Grants of more than $100,000 from the National Park Service Bicentennial Lighthouse Fund, matched by the Town of St.George and public contributions, were used by the St.George Historical Society to accomplish the restoration. The Keeper's house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and the initial restoration completed in 1990.
The Marshall Point Lighthouse Museum displays memorabilia relating to the town and three area lighthouses: Tenants Harbor, Whitehead and Marshall Point. Most recently the summer kitchen has been rebuilt as an addition to the museum; future plans include rebuilding of the bell tower and outbuildings.
Inside the keeper's house/museum; the case displays miniature lobster buoys identifying local fishermen.
Directions:
From U.S. Route 1 in Thomaston take Route 131 south through St.George and Tenants Harbor to Port Clyde. Turn left at the "Marshall Point Museum" sign (Dick Cliff Road). Continue up the hill, passing another sign for the museum, and turn right onto Marshall Point Road. Pass a "Dead End" sign and two stone pillars on either side of the narrowing road. The road ends at the lighthouse parking area. The passenger ferry Elizabeth Ann out of Port Clyde to Monhegan Island passes this light.
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