Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, Maine
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 44° 13.303 W 068° 20.184
19T E 553005 N 4896713
This scene from Acadia National Park was one of sixteen different designs used on a 2016 stamp issue commemorating the centennial of the U.S. National Park Service.
Waymark Code: WMXTBW
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2018
Views: 7
The National Park Service (NPS for short) came into being in 1916 with the signing of the National Park Service Organic Act. Its purpose was to administer all the properties and holdings of the National Park System (also NPS for short). Prior to that time, each individual park or monument was independently managed or operated under the auspices of the US Army or Department of Agriculture. In 2016, the US Postal Service honored the National Park Service with a sheet of sixteen different stamps each featuring a photo, painting or artifact from their holdings. This particular stamp features the Bass Harbor lighthouse found in Acadia National Park in Maine.
The lighthouse dates from 1858 and marks the entrance to Bass Harbor on the southernmost tip of Mount Desert Island. The tower stands 32 feet high and was originally fitted with a small fifth-order Fresnel lens. (With Fresnel lenses, the size goes down as the number goes up.) It is still an operating navigational aid though it is no longer manned, having been automated in 1974.
Portland Head lighthouse claims to be the most photographed lighthouse in the state of Maine. But Bass Harbor lighthouse, being located within a National Park that gets more than 3 million visitors per year, has to be right up there. In order to get the classic view (as seen on the stamp) you have to walk down a short trail and scramble over some wet slippery rocks – the lighthouse is not much to look at from the parking lot.
Acadia National Park was a good choice to include on this stamp issue since it, like the National Park Service, celebrated its 100th birthday in 2016.
Stamp Issuing Country: United States
Date of Issue: 2-Jun-2016
Denomination: (47c)
Color: multicolored
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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