Historian Edward Rowe Snow wrote, "Portland Head and its light seem to symbolize the state of Maine -- rocky coast, breaking waves, sparkling water and clear, pure salt air." The hundreds of thousands of people who visit Portland Head each year would agree; this is one of the most strikingly beautiful lighthouse locations in New England. HL404R The U.S.S. Constitution passes Portland Head Light on July 23, 1931 Portland, which was known as Falmouth until 1786, was America's sixth busiest port by the 1790s. Even so, Maine had no lighthouses when 74 merchants petitioned the Massachusetts government (Maine was part of Massachusetts at the time) in 1784 for a light to mark the entrance to Portland Harbor. The deaths of two people in a 1787 shipwreck at Bangs (now Cushing) Island near Portland Head finally led to the appropriation of $750 for a lighthouse. |
Captains Cove 851 W Harbor Drive C, San Diego California 92101 
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