This is an an edited version of a conversation that was first heard in episode 62 in May 2020. The guest is Elaine Jones and the subject is Burnt Island Light in Maine. A lighthouse was built in 1821 on five-acre Burnt Island at the west side of the entrance to Boothbay Harbor in Maine, which was a center for shipbuilding, gristmills, and fishing going back to the 1700s. In 1988, Burnt Island became one of the last Maine light stations to be automated and destaffed.

Elaine Jones painting the Burnt Island Lighthouse tower in 1998. Courtesy of Elaine Jones

In 1998, as part of the Maine Lights Program, Burnt Island Light Station was transferred to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Elaine Jones was named the director of the new facility, and it was her vision to transform the island into an outstanding educational and recreational facility for Maine’s residents and its visitors. She retired in 2021 after 30 years with the Department of Marine Resources. In fact, her last day of work was the exact 200th anniversary of the first lighting of Burn Island Light on November 9, 1821.

Burnt Island Light Station, photo by Jeremy D'Entremont