East Quoddy Head Lighthouse

     I have chosen to venture just beyond down east Maine to include the lighthouses on Campobello Island which geographically is much closer to the coast of Maine than to the mainland of New Brunswick, Canada.  The first of those is the East Quoddy Head Lighthouse.  While it is twelve miles by sea from St. Andrew's one must cross the bridge to Lubec, Maine and travel some sixty miles to St. Steven to reach Canada by land.  The lighthouse is known to local residents as "Head Harbour Light".

     During the Napoleonic Wars, when Britain and the United States were at economic war, the town of Eastport, Maine grew rapidly as a smuggling center.  Campobello Island, on which Head Harbour Lighthouse was built also became a trade center.  During the 1820s, trade flourished and traffic grew between Campobello Island and the Maine Coast.  Fishing, shipping, and shipbuilding were important activities in Passamaquoddy Bay, but the famous Fundy fogs, high tides, and treacherous rocks around Campobello Islandbit into the profits and hearts of seafaring traders.  Head Harbour's Light (1829) was the first Canadian response to this danger, built to warn sailors approaching the craggy rocks and shoals.

     The island is probably best known as the place where former American President Franklin D. Roosevelt spent his childhood summers and contracted polio in 1921.  The family "cottage" is now is now the of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, established in 1964.

     Directions:  Cross into Canada at Lubec, Maine and continue approximately 2.5 miles past the customs station and Roosevelt Park.  Turn right at the "Y" intersection, NB 774 North.  Continue on this road fro about seven miles through Wilson's Beach to Head Harbour and the light. The road (Lighthouse Road) becomes dirt shortly before ending at the parking area.

     There are trails around the area, including series of iron rail stairways which make the light assessable directly at low tide only.  A sign warns of rapidly changing tides and weather conditions;  there is about a two-hour window to cross and return from the light without being stranded on the island for six to eight hours.  The afternoon low tide period presents the best light for photographs.

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