Llewellyn Norwood, Owls Head Lightkeeper, Honored with Memorial Stone and Bronze Marker

On the morning of September 10, 2025, local Owls Head residents, members of the Owls Head Cemetery Committee, American Lighthouse Foundation, Mussel Ridge Historical Society and the U.S. Coast Guard gathered at Merriman Cemetery near the entrance to Owls Head State Park, to honor lightkeeper Llewellyn Norwood.

Keeper Norwood passed away from heart disease at Owls Head Light Station on April 13, 1911. At the time of his passing, the road leading to the light station was impassable due to the mud season. In light of the road conditions, the deceased keeper was buried in Merriman Cemetery, which is located on the edge of the former U.S. Lighthouse Service property. His burial in the Merriman Cemetery was intended to be temporary.

However, keeper Norwood’s body remained at Merriman Cemetery for some years – even possibly decades. Maybe to this very day. The circumstances remain a mystery. Lea Carver, chairperson for the Owls Head Cemetery Committee, notes, “There seemed to be an expectation that he would eventually be removed to his family plot in Seal Cove on Mount Desert Island where his parents and other family members are buried. A brief mention in an Ellsworth newspaper in 1922 – 11 years after he died but shortly after his wife passed away – indicated that he would be disinterred and taken to Seal Cove. Yet there is absolutely no record of that having actually taken place.”

Carver went on to say, “We will likely never know for certain where Captain Norwood’s grave is, however, both the Owls Head Cemetery Committee and American Lighthouse Foundation wanted to commemorate his 16 years of dedicated service at our lighthouse by providing him (and his wife) with memorial stone at the Merriman Cemetery at long last. The new stone, crafted by Wm. Dornan & Son in Thomaston and purchased by the American Lighthouse Foundation, has been installed by the Cemetery Committee.”