Ram Island Light is located in Fisherman’s Passage off Ocean Point at the entrance to Boothbay Harbor. Back in the mid-19th century a fisherman began hanging a lantern. This tradition was passed on for many years from one fisherman to another.
During the period when there were no lights, the local people told of ghosts warning the ships off the dangerous rocks. One such tale is of a sailor approaching the rocks and seeing a woman waving a torch above her head. He turned just in time to avoid the rocks.
Ram Island was first lighted on November 5, 1883. The first keeper was Samuel Cavanor from Nova Scotia and he stayed until he died in 1913. He lived on the island with his wife and five children and the children went to school in Boothbay. Mr. Cavanor had a wooden leg as a result of an accident on a lighthouse tender.
Ram Island Light became automated in 1965 and last keeper was removed. In 1983 the building was going to be torn down. The Grand Banks Schooner Museum Trust saved the building. The Ram Island Preservation Society restored the house. In 2002 they restored the walkway to the light that had been destroyed many years before.
Ghost stories continue
e and some say on very dark nights the spector of a shipwreck victim can be seen wandering the island!! Visiting Ram Island Lighthouse is a great day trip while staying at Ocean Point Inn