A bare rock, drenched by every gale, holds the light-tower high above the waves. Far-flung Mount Desert Rock is one of the most dramatic and isolated of all American lighthouses. George Putnam, for many years the commissioner of the Bureau of Lighthouses, regarded Mount Desert Rock as the most exposed light station in the United States. Mount Desert Rock and Mount Desert Island were named by French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who visited the area in 1604. The tiny island is only about 17 feet above sea level at its highest point.
Waves mercilessly batter the rock.
The records show that a 75-ton boulder was moved 60 feet in one storm. The first lighthouse on Mount Desert Rock went into operation in 1830 to mark the entrances to Frenchman and Blue Hill Bays. Esais Preble was the first keeper and his son William was his assistant. There were no assistant keepers other than family on Mount Desert Rock until the 1860s. The first lighthouse took the form of a short wooden tower at one end of a stone keeper's dwelling, with a system of eight lamps fueled by whale oil.