Like many tourist attractions on Mount Desert, the Bass Harbor Lighthouse has a spacious parking lot and walking trails. Tourists can walk down to the lighthouse and around the outside of the old keeper’s cottage.
But tourists who miss the signs warning of the uniqueness of this tourist attraction might be surprised if they peer into the cottage and see someone peering back.
The cottage is currently inhabited by Coast Guard Commander Robert Burchell, his wife, Brooke Lindsay, and their two children, Sophie and Ethan.
“The kids sometimes like to tap on the windows,” Burchell said.
Burchell is commander of all Coast Guard operations from Eastport to Stonington and gets to live in the keeper’s cottage while stationed on MDI.
“It’s a perk,” Burchell said.
The cottage is relatively small, one and a half stories with three bedrooms. “But we’re not big people, so it’s okay,” he said.
The view from the cottage is quite appropriate for a Coast Guard family. The lighthouse overlooks Bass Harbor, at the southwestern tip of the island, and Burchell says the kids love to begin and end their day watching vessels pass. “They yell when they see a Coast Guard boat go by,” he said.
Burchell thinks it’s a good idea to keep a Coast Guard family in the keeper’s cottage. It maintains a Guard presence on the island while at the same time providing housing. The Coast Guard owns and maintains the lighthouse.
“It’s kind of historical for the Guard,” he said.
The Bass Harbor Light was built in 1858 to warn mariners of the hidden bar at the eastern entrance of the harbor. “Mariners still use the lighthouse as kind of a reference point,” Burchell said.
The family’s stay is not connected with the lighthouse’s upkeep, but they have helped on occasion. Though fully automated in 1972 and equipped with a backup system, the light has actually gone out twice in the family’s two-year stay. Each time, they were the first to notice and report it.
“I felt like I did my duty the one or two times it went out,” Lindsay joked.
The keeper’s cottage was built in 1902, but has since been renovated to be cozier for young families. Plush carpet covers the old floorboards and historical photos adorn the house. A horse barn has been converted into a garage; Burchell says he can still see chew-marks on the wood there.
The lighthouse is connected to the cottage by a hallway and Burchell’s family can go up there whenever they want. Unfortunately, they have to share the cramped space with a million flies each spring.
Burchell can be transferred to a new command post every two years. “That’s the downside,” he said. Most recently, the family has lived in Maryland and Long Island, New York. Next, they will go to New London, Connecticut, where they will have to fend for themselves for housing.