SALEM — Dozens of community members, volunteers, and dignitaries gathered at Bakers Island Light Station recently to celebrate the homecoming of the station’s historic 4th order Fresnel lens after more than 50 years away.
The ceremony, held exactly 100 years after the lens was first installed at Bakers Island in 1926, marked the successful conclusion of the effort by the Essex National Heritage Commission to return the lens to the light station it once served — and the moment the public can finally see it for themselves.
Manufactured by Chance Brothers & Co. of England in 1903 and installed at Bakers Island in 1926, the lens guided mariners through Salem Sound for decades before automation led to its removal in 1972. It spent the next 50 years on public display at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland, Maine, before its return to Salem this spring. The lens is now on permanent public display in the Assistant Keeper’s House at Bakers Island Light Station, where visitors can view it as part of Essex Heritage’s regular season of public boat tours to the island.
A centennial welcome home
Guests traveled to Bakers Island by landing craft for an afternoon of remarks, a formal ribbon-cutting, and a reception. Speakers included Rear Admiral Michael Platt, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Northeast District; Annie Harris, CEO of Essex Heritage; Salem City Council President Alice Merkl; Salem Ward 1 Councilor Erin Turowski; and Retired Rear Admiral Dan May, USCG, who played an instrumental role in coordinating the lens’ loan and return.
“The Coast Guard is honored to celebrate the homecoming of the Bakers Island Lighthouse Fresnel lens,” said Platt. “This historic milestone would not have been possible without the relentless dedication of Essex Heritage and our community partners, who share our deep commitment to safeguarding New England’s rich maritime legacy.”
“It is very exciting to have the lens return on the 100th anniversary of its original installation. A lot of people made this happen, including the USCG, our volunteers, and the wider island community,” said Harris. “The lens is an historic artifact and fascinating piece of technology. We have installed it in our small island museum so the public can see it up close and learn how the inventor Augustin-Jean Fresnel revolutionized lighthouses across the world.”
Honoring Ken Black’s legacy
The lens’ survival is owed in large part to the late Ken Black, a decorated Coast Guardsman known throughout the lighthouse preservation community as “Mr. Lighthouse.” When automation displaced Fresnel lenses from active service across New England in the 1970s, many were lost, damaged, or discarded. Black made it his mission to rescue these artifacts, arranging for the Bakers Island lens to be preserved and placed on public display at the Shore Village Museum — now the Maine Lighthouse Museum — in Rockland, Maine, rather than see it disappear into storage or worse. His efforts ensured the lens remained intact and accessible to the public for more than fifty years, safeguarding it until the day it could return to the light station it was built to serve.
A homecoming years in the making
Bringing the lens home from Rockland to Bakers Island required far more than a boat ride. The effort drew on the work of lighthouse experts, dedicated volunteers, and the broader Bakers Island community. Lampist Kurt Fosburg of Superior Lighthouse Restoration carefully disassembled, inspected, and prepared the delicate glass prisms for transport, then reassembled the lens upon its arrival. Essex Heritage volunteers helped coordinate logistics at every step, from transporting the lens’s individual panels to loading them onto the organization’s landing craft, the Naumkeag, for the final leg of the journey across Salem Sound.
Once on the island, the lens’ new home took shape through the efforts of the Bakers Island community itself, who assisted in unloading and transporting the lens to the light station. The custom-designed barrier was built by local artist and woodworker John Pydynkowski, and set-up on-site by volunteer lighthouse keepers Pam and Douglas Smith. The accompanying interpretive panel was designed by Good Brand Partners and fabricated on 6mm PVC by Creative Ink, giving visitors the historical context to appreciate the lens’s significance when they walk into the Assistant Keeper’s House.
Now open to the public
With the ceremony complete, the Fresnel lens is now part of the visitor experience at Bakers Island Light Station for the remainder of the 2026 season and beyond. The lens is on view in the Assistant Keeper’s House as part of a new display developed by Essex Heritage, which traces the lens’ origins, its decades of service, its rescue by the late Black, and the research and partnership that brought it home. Visitors can see the lens as part of Essex Heritage’s regular public boat tours aboard the Naumkeag, as well as during overnight stays in the Keeper’s House and scheduled volunteer workdays on the island.
For more information about how to visit Bakers Island Light, go to bakersislandlight.org/visit.
The Bring the Light Home campaign
The lens’ return was made possible in part by the Bringing the Light Home campaign, a public fundraising effort launched by Essex Heritage with a goal of $20,000. The campaign has funded the transport and reassembly required to bring the lens home safely, supports the work creating a custom-designed protective display barrier and the development of interpretive materials for visitors. Community members, donors, and supporters of Essex Heritage have contributed to the campaign, reflecting the same spirit of public stewardship that first brought a navigational aid to Bakers Island more than two centuries ago.
Donations can still be made at bakersislandlight.org/bringthelighthome.