Portland Harbor 1833 Poster

Map of Portland Harbor, Maine. Surveyed under the direction of Lt Col John Anderson, US Top. Engineer. Drawn by Lieut. B Poole, 3d Artillery, 1833. In November 1831 Portland Harbor was devastated by a storm. This map shows two proposed breakwaters, one from Fish Point, which was never built, and another from Cushing's Point in Cape Elizabeth (now South Portland). A 2,500 foot breakwater was proposed to secure the harbor, and a lighthouse was included in the plans for the breakwater. The project began in 1836 but the funding ran out, halting the building of the lighthouse. The breakwater was only 1,800 feet when the work stopped. A lighthouse was built in 1856. The breakwater was extended another 200 feet in 1877 and a new light installed, today known as "Bug Light".