Camden Harbor Committee...

Wed, 06/17/2015 - 5:15pm

Holly S. Edwards

For many, this is one of the only ways they can see Curtis Island close up, let alone the light station tower that faces Penobscot Bay. It’s not well-publicized, but there is a public path off Bay View Street, and a pull-off just big enough for one or two cars at the bottom of Beacon Avenue, and a sign directly across the street denoting the path’s existence. Check it out. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)

Another way to see Curtis Island and the light station and tower is via schooner, either by taking a two-hour trip out of Camden or a longer trip. Both offers views of the island coming and going out of the harbor. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)

Curtis Island Light Station and the keeper’s house, which is now the island’s caretaker’s summer house. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)

On Saturday, June 20, from 1 to 5 p.m., the public will be able to visit Curtis Island in person, courtesy of the Camden Harbor Committee, which is hosting Curtis Island Day to help people get to know the treasures on the island. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)

Curtis Island Light Station and the keeper’s house, which is now the island’s caretaker’s summer house. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)

CAMDEN — Over the decades, Curtis Island, which sits at the entrance to Camden's outer harbor, has had less foot traffic than other historical and popular attractions around town. That is true for visitors and tourists alike, and it's not because people don't want to go there, it's because it's not easy to get there.

Curtis Island is open to the public, but there is no dockage and access is by sea kayak, dinghy or small-engine skiff. To land, boats must nestle up to the shore at high tide, or land on what little rocky beach there is at low tide. Either way, it's not easy and proper foot wear is a must to walk in the water and on the rocks and seaweed.

The Camden Harbor Committee is going to change that for one day this weekend, when they will host the inaugural Curtis Island Day Saturday, June 20, and provide free boat rides on and off the island for the public. Curtis Island Day boat rides will run from 1 to 5 p.m., during high tide, from the public landing. Harbor Committee member Stephen Gold said that the event is open to all ages, and they will drag some floats out to the island to assist in getting people on and off the island without too much trouble.

“Hopefully, we wont get people’s feet wet, but no promises,” said Gold. That means, be sure and wear appropriate shoes, just in case. The terrain varies, from rocky paths with exposed roots to lush grass fields, both cut and not, as well as woods.

Originally known as Negro Island, it encompasses just seven grass-topped rocky acres and earned its name when an African cook for the original European settler, James Richards, sailed into the harbor with the family in 1769 and he pointed to it and called it "his island." The island was renamed Curtis Island in 1934 for Cyrus Curtis, a Camden summer resident, publishing magnate and town benefactor.

Since 1836, Curtis Island has had a lighthouse and keeper's house on it. The first keeper was H.K.M. Bowers, and the original tower was built of rubblestone. A new keeper's house was built in 1889, along with a barn and boathouse, and the present lighthouse was built in 1896.

The lighthouse was automated in 1972 and today remains an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation. When the Coast Guard put the island and the light station on the surplus list, which meant it was headed for public auction, town officials applied to acquire the property and the federal government turned it over to the town in 1973.

The town then designated Curtis Island a town park, and in 1976, Willard Wight and his family became the first volunteer caretakers. The Wights lived summers on the island for four years, and then in 1980 Diane "DeeDee" and Garrett Eilliott "Connie" Conover Jr. and their family became the caretakers, a labor of love the family continues today despite the loss of patriarch Connie in 2010.]