is a village in the Town of St. George in Knox County, incorporated on February 7, 1803 from a portion of Cushing. In 1865 it ceded some land to South Thomaston.

Maine Route 131 from Thomaston runs along the eastern portion of St. George and passes through Tenants Harbor village, about halfway to the tip of the town at Port Clyde, on the east side of the peninsular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional resources

*Maine. Historic Preservation Commission. Augusta, Me.   Text and photos from National Register of Historic Places: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/nrhp/text/xxxxxxxx.PDF and http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/nrhp/photos/xxxxxxxx.PDF

Tenants Harbor Light Station: 87002026.PDF
Whitehead Light Station: 88000154.PDF
Sail Loft: 77000076.PDF

National Register of Historic Places – Listings

Sail Loft

[off Maine Route 131 Tenants Harbor] During much of the 19^th century the shores of Tenants Harbor were lined with ships on ways in various stages of construction. Most were the famous “coasters”, schooners of various sizes that handled the trade along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the West Indies. Carrying from Maine ice, stone, lime and lumber, these vessels were the backbone of trade here until supplanted by steamships and the railroads. Over seventy of these durable crafts were built in this small community during the fifty years between 1820 and 1870. In 1860 the Directory for St. George listed 26 master mariners.* [Frank A. Beard photo]

Today all that remains as tangible evidence of this heritage is the Sail Loft built by Deacon Robert Long in 1860. Except for some partitioning on the second floor, the building is little changed. Originally it housed a ship chandlery on the first floor,a sail loft on the second floor, and a molding shop on the third floor. In 1870 Robert Long’s son, Whitney, went into partnership with Holly Bean to build schooners. During the next two years they built seven vessels on the land in front of the Sail Loft. A nearly complete set of the records of the Long businesses during the period 1860 to 1874 was found in the building and were loaned to the Bath Marine Museum for classification and study. The Sail Loft, as a local landmark, is a reminder to the residents of Tenant’s Harbor of a proud maritime heritage.*

Tenants Harbor Light Station

[Southern Island, Tenants Harbor] This Light Station is an important example of an 1850s Maine lighthouse complex. It is composed of a cylindrical brick light tower connected to a 1½-story keeper’s house and detached shed, oil house and replica bell house. The light station at Tenants Harbor was established in 1857 in a continued effort to provide aids to navigation along the Maine coast.

Its location on the eastern side of Southern Island placed the complex at a strategic position, enabling it to guide ships through the two entrances to Tenants Harbor. Tenants Harbor, the largest community in the Town of St. George, is located at the head of a long harbor. This was an area where an active shipbuilding industry produced more than seventy schooners between 1820 and 1870. Many were used to convey ice, stone, lime, and lumber from many places such as the nearby granite quarries at Long Cove and Dark’s Island. In 1933 the light station at was decommissioned and sold to a private individual.*

Whitehead Light Station

[east side of Whitehead Island Tenants Harbor] The 1804 Light Station on Whitehead Island marks the west entrance to Penobscot Bay. It is the third oldest light station in Maine, although its present components date from the mid- to late-19^th century.

It occupies a strategic location along the shipping routes of the midcoast. Sited at the west side of Penobscot Bay, it guides shipping toward the approach to the important coastal communities of Rockland, Camden, Belfast, and Searsport. During the 19th century these were busy commercial ports whose economic livelihood was virtually dependent on maritime transportation.

A steam powered fog signal was placed here in 1870. The station was automated in 1982. The tower has been attributed to Alexander Parris (1780-1852), based on the close resemblance of this structure to the 1851 Monhegan tower, which the architect is known to have designed. Furthermore, the highly sophisticated nature of the granite structure typifies Parris’s work at other Maine lights including Mount Desert and Saddleback Ledge.*