The tower and keeper’s house were constructed in 1827 but neither lasted very long. This may have been because the builder used salt water to mix the lime mortar. The second tower, built using only fresh water, was completed in 1835. A new wooden frame keeper’s house was added in 1857. The tower was upgraded with a Fresnal lamp at about the same time. The same lam
p is being used today and can been seen as far away as 14 nautical miles.
At first the beacon was lighted by whale oil and then by kerosene. The other brick building was the bell house. When fog was first sighted, the keeper would ring the bell by hand. Later a system using weights was installed.
Eventually electricity was added and the beacon was automated in 1934. No longer was a keeper living on the island necessary.
In 1940 the Coast Guard transferred the 7 acre site to the Town of Bristol, everything but the tower. The lighthouse is now part of the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park and many people visit it in the summer