West Quoddy Head, in Quoddy Head State Park, Lubec, Maine, is the easternmost point of the contiguous United States. In 1808 a lighthouse was constructed at the site to guide ships through the Quoddy Narrows. The current tower, with distinctive red-and-white stripes, was constructed in 1858 and is an active aid to navigation. The 3rd order Fresnel lens is the only 3rd order and one of only eight Fresnel lenses still in use on the Maine Coast. The light station was added to the National Register of Historic Places as West Quoddy Head Light Station on July 4, 1980. Description West Quoddy Head is an easterly-pointing peninsula in southeastern Lubec, overlooking Quoddy Narrows, a strait between Lubec and Campobello Island, Canada, that provides access to Passamaquoddy Bay and harbors located on the St. Croix River and other rivers which empty into the bay. Most of the peninsula is part of Quoddy Head State Park, and the light station is located near the southern end of its eastern face A stone sign describes the lighthouse as the "easternmost point in the U.S.A." It is the easternmost building in the United States (a nearby sign proclaims the "easternmost giftshop in the U.S."), but the easternmost point is at rocks extending eastward from the shore. The present light station includes a tower, former keeper's quarters, service building, and oil house. The tower is circular, and is in height, with the beacon at above sea level. The light, magnified by a third-order Fresnel lens, has a range of . The tower is built of brick, and painted in alternating horizontal red and white stripes. A small gabled entry vestibule, also brick, projects from the tower. The keeper's house is a wood-frame structure, 1 stories in height. History A lighthouse at West Quoddy Head, Maine, was authorized by Congress in 1806. The light station was finished on April 21, 1808, at a cost of $5,000 (). In 1820, Congress authorized the first fog signal at the station, a bell, for a cost of $1,000 (). The current tower was built in 1858. The present station was built in 1858. The former keeper's house now serves as a museum and visitor's center. In 1990, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 25-cent stamp featuring the West Quoddy Head Light. Keepers The first keeper was Thomas Dexter. 1939: Howard Grey was the last civilian keeper of the station