Halfway Rock Light
lighthouse in Maine, United States
Halfway Rock Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on a barren ledge in Casco Bay, Maine. The lighthouse tower, which has a height of 76 feet (23 m), and the attached ex-boathouse are all that remains, as the other buildings have been taken away in storms. The name "Halfway Rock" comes from the position of the rock which is halfway between Cape Elizabeth and Cape Small, the southwest and northeast extremities of Casco Bay, which are about 18 nautical miles (33 km) apart.
Halfway Rock Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Halfway Rock Light Station on March 14, 1988.
Halfway Rock Light Station was purchased in 2014 by a private individual, Ford Reiche, per DIY Network's Building Off the Grid program that shows the reclamation and restoration of the property.
History
The need for a lighthouse on Halfway Rock first came to attention when, in the year 1835, a ship called Samuel ran aground on the rock during a storm. Because the ledge is only ten feet above high tide on a calm day, it becomes hard to see during storms. The cry for a lighthouse was ignored in Washington until, again, in 1861, a ship ran aground on Halfway Rock. This time, it was taken a bit more seriously. Construction began, but was delayed time and time again due to lack of supplies and lack of workmen.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Halfway Rock Light” is lighthouse in Maine, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Halfway, Rock and Light, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “lighthouse in Maine, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5641964. Authority coordinates are 43.656, -70.037. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1988, 2014, 1835 and 1861.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Halfway Rock Light”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Halfway Rock Light primary sources, Halfway Rock Light archive and Halfway research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Halfway Rock Light”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Halfway Rock Light” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.