West Quoddy
Head Light was the reason I decided to do travel writing in the first
place. I was always fascinated by
lighthouses growing up on Cape Cod.
There was Nauset Light, Chatham Light, Nobska Light, and Race Point
Light among others that were familiar to me.
As I got older I still retained my interest in these guides for passing
ships. First I began by learning more
about nearby lighthouses like Three Sisters in Eastham, Wood End and Long Point
Lights in Provincetown, and Wings Neck Light in Pocasset. Then I began daydreaming about lighthouses up
and down the east coast. That is when I
found Jeremy D’Entremont’s New England Lighthouse website. It is there that I first saw West Quoddy Head
in Lubec, Maine.
With its
red and white striped façade it immediately captured my imagination. There was
only one problem, from where I lived on Cape Cod it was an eight-hour drive to
Lubec. I was not exactly thrilled about
the idea of a 16-hour round trip drive so it was necessary to find a spot to
stay overnight. That’s when I hit the
jackpot. My cousin Tracey and her
ex-husband Steve had owned a cottage on the water in Owl’s Head, Maine. It was nearly exactly halfway between me and
Lubec. It was a rental but as luck had
it nobody was there for a week in October.
I was allowed to stay there for nothing, what a great deal.
Now, don’t
get me wrong, I was excited for a week of traveling up and down the Maine
coast. It was going to be a tremendous
experience. However, the trip was
totally based on getting to see West Quoddy Head Light.
The
lighthouse itself was built in 1858 overlooking Quoddy Narrows and within
eyesight of Campobello Island, a part of New Brunswick, Canada. Lubec is the eastern most point in the United
States. It is one of the most
photographed and painted lighthouses in the country. The red stripes on West Quoddy Head come from
its close proximity to Canada. In Canada
the red stripes are common to help the lighthouses stand out against the snow. Assateague Light, located on Assateague
Island in Virginia, is the only other lighthouse with similar red stripes in
the U.S. The lighthouse is now on the
grounds of Quoddy Head State Park and was named to the Registry of Historic
Places in 1980.
There are a
few parking spots next to the lighthouse but the main parking area is located a
few hundred feet away. This is the
better parking area as the lighthouse sits down a slight hill and sets a
magnificent scene immediately upon your arrival. When I said this was a popular spot to visit
I meant it. There is only one main road,
Rt. 1, leading out to Lubec once you get past Ellsworth, near Bar Harbor. I ended up behind an SUV with Texas license
plates almost immediately after passing through Ellsworth. I stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds in
Machias and so did the folks from Texas.
When I arrived at West Quoddy Head an hour and a half later I was not surprised
when the four people from Texas arrived shortly thereafter. I can’t say if they came all that way just
for the lighthouse, but you never know.
I was
definitely in awe and very happy to be at West Quoddy Head. I must have managed to take a photograph from
every possible angle including wandering out into a nearby field. I also shot a video of my time there as I was
not sure if I’d ever have a chance to be there again. I wanted to be able to cue up my memories
anytime I felt like it.
There was a
sort of guide there sharing some information.
I found out that the lighthouse was not the eastern most point in the
U.S.; the guide pointed out a few large rocks out in the water technically
considered to be part of the country. Of
course I shot a picture of them. I tried
hard to strike a good balance between photographing every possible inch of the
grounds while also simply standing and soaking in the feeling of being there. I try to do that at many places that I am
truly excited to visit.
I began the
walk back up the hill to my car and continued taking photos looking back. I didn’t want to leave, but knew that I had a
four hour drive back to my ‘home base’ in Owl’s Head. West Quoddy Head is still tops on my list of
favorite lighthouses, although there are a few I have researched that might
come close. Of course none of those are
within ten hours by car, so they will have to wait. I drove eight hours to see West Quoddy Head,
anybody who lives closer needs to go check it out. It is a beautiful and unique piece of
history. Have fun and happy traveling!
West Quoddy Head Lighthouse:
Quoddy Head Road, Lubec, Maine; GPS (44.815256,-66.951007) – From Ellsworth,
Maine take Rt. 1 heading east. Follow
Rt. 1 approx. 75 miles into Whiting; turn right onto Rt. 189, follow it 8.8 miles,
turn right onto Maple Tree Rd., after a mile turn left to stay on this
road. Turn right onto S. Lubec Rd. after
.6 miles, take a slight left onto Quoddy Head Rd., follow it to the end.
kneeling beneath a pine tree. The 
word ‘dirigo’ is above them which means ‘I lead.’ The reason for this is that at one time Maine was the only state to hold its elections in September.
a few weeks earlier. This meant that people had to borrow money from friends and family on good faith to attempt to rebuild.
starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. With the advent of television The Grand took to having semipro boxing matches among other things to stave off closing. Now there is some sort of entertainment going on at The Grand over 330 days a year. While I was in Ellsworth the seventy-plus year old theatre was undergoing some minor façade work thanks to local donations. Even in that state there was a feel to the place like a time warp a simpler America. 