The museum is located in the former keepers’ house which was built in 1891 as a duplex for the head Keeper and the Assistant Keeper and their families.
The history of Portland Head Light is told through exhibits displaying artifacts and documents, navigational aids, Fresnel lenses, models, and photographs. A historical timeline will guide your tour through the museum beginning with the origin of the lighthouse and the lives of the keepers, technology changes over the course of 200 years, the military activities at Ft. Williams, and ending with the decommissioning and automation of Portland Head Light in 1989. The museum opened in 1992. The lighthouse tower is only open to the public one day per year on Maine Open Lighthouse Day.
