In the 1830s, dozens of vessels were built and launched in the towns of Columbia, Columbia Falls, and Addison, all on the Pleasant River. The area was busy with coastal trade and the export of lumber, granite, and fish. Passenger steamships also passed through the area.

In 1837, Congress authorized the construction of a lighthouse at the mouth of the Pleasant River. The site chosen was Nash Island, the smaller of two islands known locally as Big Nash and Little Nashes Island.

The land for the lighthouse was purchased by the government from the Nash family for $409, and the first Nash Island Lighthouse, a round tower, was built for $5,000 in 1838. Just five years later, civil engineer I. W. P. Lewis reported that the roof was leaky and the east side of the tower was badly cracked. The dwelling was also reported to be leaky and badly built.

The first Nash Island Lighthouse. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

The lighthouse's original lamps and reflectors were replaced by a Fresnel lens in 1856. Major repairs were made to the original lighthouse, but the tower was rebuilt in 1874. The 51-foot square brick lighthouse still stands. In 1888, a bell tower with a 1,000 pound fog bell was added.

For a while, there were enough children living on the island for a small school to be put in operation with a teacher from the mainland. When they reached high school age the children boarded and attended school in Jonesport.

Allen Carter Holt was keeper from 1910 to 1916. He once rescued the crew of a fishing schooner and received a commendation from Washington. Keeper Holt's children were assigned the task of counting gull nests for the Audubon Society; they counted 1,300 nests on nearby Cone Island, with an average of four eggs per nest.

U.S. Coast Guard photo

 

Ruins of the keeper's house, August 2001

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated Nash Island as one of six higher value islands," meaning the island is home to three or more migratory species of seabird. A 1995 survey found 98 eider nests along with 215 herring gull nests and 14 black back gull nests. In 1947, the Coast Guard destroyed all the keeper's dwellings, fog signal building, oil house, and the boathouse and landing ramps, leaving the tower standing alone. The light was discontinued in 1982 and replaced by an offshore buoy. The Coast Guard had planned to destroy the lighthouse, but it remains standing.

The ruins of the keeper's house seen from the tower

Genevieve "Jenny" Purington Cirone, whose father, John Purington, was keeper from 1916 to 1935, grew up on Nash Island and later owned half of the island, as well as Big Nash Island. Jenny started raising sheep when she was a girl, and continued to keep sheep on her islands for the rest of her life. She told Sherry Thomas, author of We Didn't Have Much, But We Sure Had Plenty, about her life around Addison:

Ever since I was ten years old, I been messing around in a boat. I had ten lobster traps when I was ten years old. ...Course, we had to go to school too. We started out havin' a teacher out there on the island. And we'd get in, well maybe, possibly four weeks out of the year. This teacher'd go from island to island, two weeks here, two weeks there. By the time she got back to our island, we'd already forgot what she'd learned us. Then she'd go home and one of my brothers'd propose. That's what kept happenin' to 'em. My seven brothers took to marryin' 'em as fast as they come on the island.

Barbara Hanania of the Friends of Nash Island Light with Jenny Cirone and some of her "babies" in 2001.

Jenny Cirone (1912-2004) was a very popular local resident, and it was largely her inspiration that has led to strong interest in the preservation of Nash Island Lighthouse. A video documentary about Jenny has been produced, called "Jenny's Island Life." You can purchase the documentary (specify VHS or DVD) by sending $25 to:

Some of Jenny Cirone's sheep on Nash Island

The Friends of Nash Island Light applied for the property under the Maine Lights Program, coordinated by the Island Institute of Rockland. In December 1997 the Maine Lighthouse Selection Committee announced the transfer of the lighthouse to the nonprofit group.

The ladder to the lantern room

This pedestal once held the lens and lighting apparatus

The volunteer group has been restoring the exterior of the tower. The windows have been replaced, and much of the brickwork has been repositioned and remortared. The entire outer surface has been scraped and repainted. The group hopes to eventually restore the interior.

Webmaster's note: I made it to Nash Island on August 13, 2001. Dick Miles, president of the Friends of Nash Island Light, took me out on his sailboat. This is a unique place -- the old lighthouse and the flock of sheep give the island kind of a quaint, old world feel. I wish the Friends good luck in their efforts. This lighthouse should be preserved as a monument to Jenny Cirone and all the families that lived and worked here.

Keepers: John Wass (1847-1853); Daniel Curtis (1853-?); Enos D. Wass (1865-1872); Edwin K. Heath (1872-1876); Nehemiah Guptill (1876-1881); Roscoe G. Lophaus (1881-1883); Charles S. Holt (1883-1902); Osmond Cummings (1902-1910); Allen Carter Holt (1910-1916); John Purington (1916-1935); Edwin Pettegrow (Pettegrew) (c. 1935); Larson Alley (?-1947); Edward Wallace (1947-1958).