This historic lighthouse, authorized by President Thomas Jefferson, was built in 1808. 2008 was the Bicentennial birthday of the Wood Island Light Station.
Our group has assumed the responsibility for its restoration and future use under a license granted by the U.S. Coast Guard in March of 2003.
The island is a step back in time to the era when ship navigation depended on its light and the task of operating and maintaining the light was performed by a succession of keepers and their families.
The lighthouse is closed to the public, but the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse began to give tours to small groups in the summer of 2004 making it possible for visitors to see the interior and to learn about the lifestyle of the keepers and their lifesaving heroics.
Selected Friends of Wood Island Light images:
- Wood Island Lighthouse dwelling house and barn, Biddeford, ca. 1859
- Binoculars, Wood Island Lighthouse, ca. 1865
- Wood Island Light Station, Biddeford, ca. 1886
- Sailor the dog rings fog bell, Wood Island Light, ca. 1903
- Wood Island Lighthouse, Biddeford ca. 1890
- Thomas Henry Orcutt, Wood Island Lighthouse, ca. 1896
- Postcard Wood Island Lighthouse, Biddeford c 1902
- Sailor, family dog, Wood Island Lighthouse, ca. 1903
- Wood Island Lighthouse, Biddeford, ca. 1920
- Fog Bell from Wood Island Lighthouse, Biddeford
- Wood Island Lighthouse, Biddeford, 1951
- Aerobeacon at Wood Island Lighthouse, Biddeford, c. 1980