This oddly named lighthouse is one of the last to be built on the Maine coast. The name Cuckolds, given to a pair of treacherous ledges at the entrance to Boothbay Harbor, is apparently after a point of land on the Thames River in England that was granted to a London man to assuage his anger after King John had an affair with his wife. The Cuckolds in Maine may have been named by a transplanted Londoner.
A tripod-type day beacon was located on the Cuckolds since1874. In 1890, a recommendation was made for a fog signal station, stating that the Cuckolds were "dangerous of approach on their southern side on account of the reefs in that direction, and the shoals which extend half a mile to the westward of the western rock. . . . They are much dreaded by mariners in thick weather."
Wrecks continued in the vicinity in spite of the fog signal station. In January 1896, Cuckolds fog signal keepers Edward H. Pierce and Clarence Marr rescued six crewmen of the Canadian schooner Aurora on a bitterly cold night with the help of two lobstermen from Cape Newagen. The rescuers were awarded silver watches by the Canadian government.
There have been a number of rescues in the vicinity of the Cuckolds. In September 1925, Keeper Fred Robinson rescued several people from a motorboat that was drifting near the lighthouse.
Keeper E.D. Elliot towed a disabled boat holding seven people to safety in the fall of 1930.
Many sources claim that a blizzard in February 1978 destroyed the keeper's dwelling, but according to Coast Guard sources it was demolished in 1977. The lighthouse still exhibits a flashing white light as an active aid to navigation.
Directions: From U.S. 1, take ME27 south into Boothbay Harbor. Continue on Rt 27 to Southport Island to the villave of Newagen. At the post office ME 27 turns 90 degrees north into ME 238; bear southeast onto a paved road with a “Town Landing” sign at the corner. Continue to a small parking area at the public peir. The lighthouse can be seen in the distancew. It can also be seen from many of the excursion boats out of Boothbay Harbor and from the public landing pier at Cape Newagen.
Credits: I would like to thank Jeremy D'Entremont, webmaster of, http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/, for sharing the above history. Jeremy is a speaker, author, historian, and tour guide who is widely recognized as the foremost authority on the lighthouses of New England. To view a story on him, go to, (Jeremy D'Entremont).
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