Fundraising Kicks-Off for the Restoration of Stage Island Monument

Backed by the passionate support of people in the nearby Biddeford and Saco communities, the Maine-based American Lighthouse Foundation is embarking on a project to raise the necessary funds to restore the exterior of Stage Island Monument in Biddeford Pool.

Built in 1825, the Stage Island Monument has stood silent sentry as an aid to navigation for two hundred years, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

According to the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, “In 1823, a group of Maine businessmen and mariners petitioned Congress to establish a daybeacon tower on Stage Island. It was needed to mark the navigation channel that serves as Wood Island Harbor’s northern entry. The proposed day beacon would allow mariners to distinguish the safe channel from a hazardous area nearby to the east.”

The Stage Island Monument, which is located 1.1 miles westward of Wood Island Lighthouse, is constructed of undressed stone and rises to a height of 60-feet. At its base, the column’s diameter is 20-feet, and the walls are four-feet thick. At the top of the column, the walls are two-feet thick. A cap stone of granite surmounts the structure.

The year 2025 marks the Monument’s bicentennial – a perfect opportunity to rally everyone near and far to support this important restoration project.

Peter McPheeters, a prominent community businessman in Biddeford Pool, has been a driving force behind the effort to restore the Stage Island Monument.

“The Stage Island Monument has stood sentinel over the approaches to Biddeford Pool and the Saco River for 200 years now, and it’s hard to imagine our bay without it,” notes McPheeters. “While very few have actually seen it up close, its presence in the harbor has long stood as a reminder of the vital and strong maritime heritage of our area, a heritage that defined the 19th and early 20th centuries on the coast of Biddeford and Saco.”

McPheeters goes on to say, “In the background of many of the old photos of the schooners heading up river or the fishing fleets anchored in the harbor, the old grey tower stands as a quiet reminder of the challenges those mariners faced in navigating these waters, before accurate charts were drawn, and long before electronics made it all so easy. Please help us to preserve that crucial reminder of our proud past.”

The nonprofit American Lighthouse Foundation, headquartered at Owls Head Light Station in Midcoast Maine, has entered into a license agreement with the United States Coast Guard, which will permit the exterior restoration project to occur on the Stage Island Monument. Once the work is completed, the Monument will be standing strong for yet another century.

“The Stage Island Monument provides such a strong sense of place within the community,” says Bob Trapani, Jr., Executive Director for the American Lighthouse Foundation. “It is truly inspiring to see the love people have for this historic treasure. Our organization looks forward to managing what amounts to be a milestone project as we celebrate the structure’s 200^th birthday. For those who cherish the Stage Island Monument, we can give it no better birthday gift than to get behind and support its restoration. Together, we will ensure the Monument stands strong for another 100 years!”

To learn more about the Stage Island Monument restoration project and how you can financially support its restoration, visit: https://lighthousefoundation.org/lighthouses/stage-island-monument/