February 10, 2025
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Little River Lighthouse receives historical clock

CUTLER – A historical timepiece soon will be on display at the Little River Lighthouse, located on an island near Cutler.

A rare Seth Thomas brass clock that once hung at the old Cross Island Moorings Life Saving Station near Machiasport, has been donated to the Friends of Little River Lighthouse, Tim Harrison co-founder of the American Lighthouse Foundation, said in a prepared release.

Harrison, who led the restoration efforts to save Little River Lighthouse, said Wednesday that next year there will be an exhibit on display at the lighthouse that will showcase numerous nautical items including the clock, a buoy light, a badge from the old Lighthouse Service Police among other items. “We will have a museum exhibit at the lighthouse of all very rare artifacts,” he said.

George Morrison, of New Brunswick, Canada, who inherited the clock from his father a number of years ago, donated the rare brass clock to the lighthouse.

Morrison said he was unclear when his father acquired the clock, although the date on the plaque that is on it says 1961, so it might have been given to him when the Cross Island Station was discontinued. However, the clock itself dates back to the early 1900s, the press release added.

Morrison decided to donate the clock to the lighthouse after he and his wife spent the night at the restored lighthouse earlier this year, first as overnight paying guests and later as volunteer caretakers.

Morrison said that after reading about the years of restoration work at the Little River Lighthouse by dedicated volunteers such as Harrison, Kathleen Finnegan, Hal Biering, and many others, he felt the clock should be on display at the lighthouse for the public to view as his contribution to honor the work that had been done there and for the public to appreciate the history of his family’s maritime heritage, the release added.

Harrison said Seth Thomas clocks were the official clocks of the old United States Life Saving Service.

“In 1915, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life Saving Service were merged to create the U.S. Coast Guard,” the release said. “In 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was dissolved and merged into the Coast Guard. At a later date, Chelsea clocks were also used, however, it was the Seth Thomas clocks that were originally the official clocks.”

It is highly likely, the press release added, that this clock was first used at the original Cross Island Life Saving Station before it was abandoned and replaced by new buildings that became the Cross Island Life Boat Station and later named the Cross Island Coast Guard Station. “Since there was nothing wrong with the clock, we must assume that it would simply have been moved, along with other items, to the new station,” the release said.

Morrison is no stranger to lighthouses.

His father, George Sullivan Morrison, served a long and distinguished career in the United States Coast Guard. In the 1940s, the Morrison family was the last family to be stationed at St. Croix River Lighthouse in Calais. His father had also been stationed at Quoddy Head Coast Guard Station in Lubec, Moose Peak Lighthouse on Mistake Island near Jonesport and Cross Island LifeBoat Station in Machias Bay, the release said.

Son, George, followed in his father’s footsteps and spent 20 years in the U.S. Coast Guard and served part of that time as a lighthouse keeper at Libby Island Lighthouse in Machias Bay.

Besides donating the rare brass clock, Morrison also donated a 1911 Light List book to the lighthouse. Morrison said he hopes his donations will inspire other people who have lighthouse, lifesaving or Coast Guard artifacts in their family’s possession to also donate them to the Little River Lighthouse where they can be put on display and properly saved for future generations.

The Cross Island Coast Guard Station was discontinued in the 1960s. Little River Lighthouse is now restored and available in the summer months for overnight stays.

The Friends of Little River Lighthouse, a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, P.O. Box 671, East Machias, 4630 manages it. To learn more you can visit its Web site at www.LittleRiverLight.org or call at 259-3833.

bdncalais@verizon.net

454-8228


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