Salem's Bakers Island Light Lens Returns Home After More Than 50 Years

SALEM, MA — A historic lens that once guided ships into the port of Salem is back on Bakers Island after more than 50 years away.

Essex Heritage brought the original Bakers Island Light 4th Order Fresnel lens from the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland, Maine, to Bakers Island Light Station in Salem. The lens, crafted by Chance Brothers & Co. of England and installed in the tower in the early 20th century, is being prepared for public display.

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The lens had been held at the Maine museum since it was removed from Bakers Island in 1972. The return was made through a long-term loan agreement with the United States Coast Guard, which retains ownership of the lens as part of its Heritage Asset Collection.

Essex Heritage also launched its Bringing the Light Home campaign, a public fundraising effort with a goal of $20,000. The money will support a conservation assessment, a custom display case, UV protection, environmental monitoring, and interpretive exhibit development needed to open the lens to the public this summer.

Bakers Island Light Station has stood at the entrance to Salem Harbor since 1797. The lighthouse was essential to commerce in the early years of the American Republic, when customs duties collected at the port of Salem were among the nation's important revenue sources.

"Bakers Island Light has been guiding mariners for more than 200 years, and the Fresnel lens is the single most powerful artifact from that history," Essex Heritage CEO Anne Harris said. "Seeing it come home — back to the island it was built to serve — is a milestone for everyone who has worked to restore this lighthouse and open it to the public.

"Now we need the community's help to make sure it can be preserved and shared for generations to come."

Essex Heritage received the deed to Bakers Island Light Station from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2014 and has since restored the property and developed public programming. The lens is planned for display in the Assistant Keeper's House as the centerpiece of a new exhibit about the light station, its keepers, and the region's maritime history.

"This lens is a precision instrument and a piece of American maritime heritage. Bringing it back to Bakers Island is the right thing for the artifact and for the public," lampist Kurt Fosburg said. "I am looking forward to conducting the condition assessment and working with Essex Heritage to make sure it is displayed in a way that protects it for the long term."

Donations for the campaign can be made here.