On March 3, 1821, Congress appropriated $10,500 for three lighthouses on the Maine coast, one of them on five-acre Burnt Island at the west side of the entrance to Boothbay Harbor. In 1988, the station was automated and destaffed. A decade later, Burnt Island Light Station was transferred to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Elaine Jones, education director for the department since 1991, was named the director of the facility.



Elaine Jones painting Burnt Island Lighthouse (courtesy of Elaine Jones)



Burnt Island in 2016; U.S. Lighthouse Society photo by Scott Walbert



It was Elaine's vision to transform the island into an educational and recreational facility for Maine’s residents and its visitors. She has been honored with a 2019 Keeper of the Light Award by the American Lighthouse Foundation and a 2016 Visionary Award by the by the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment. Also interviewed in this episode is Russ Katje, a U.S. Lighthouse Society Hall of Fame Lighthouse Passport Program stamp collector.



Russ Katje with sons Jon and Chris at New Presque Isle Lighthouse, Michigan



Burnt Island Light Station