How a Ship Wrecked at Portland Headlight in 1886 is Puzzling To This Day

On Christmas Eve in 1886, a three-masted sailing vessel crashed on the rocks at Portland Headlight. It has become famous for the photo of the wreck taken over 120 years ago.

According to wreckhunter.net, which documents known shipwrecks off the New England coast, the Annie C. Maguire was a British three-masted bark sailing from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and struck the rock ledge 100 yards from Portland Head Light.

The lighthouse keeper, common back before automation and GPS, used a ladder as a gangplank between the shore and the ledge against which the ship was leaning. The Captain, the ship's master, his wife, two mates, and the nine-man crew got onto the ledge and each crossed the ladder safely.

To this day, the cause of the wreck is a mystery. Visibility was fine, even during a storm, and the crew said they saw Portland Headlight before they wrecked.

Nothing remains of the Annie C. Maguire today except a few small objects wedged between the rocks that aren't accessible to visitors.

Today, letters painted on the rocks below the lighthouse are a reminder of the wreck and the rescue of the crew of the Annie C. Maguire. The original message was painted on a rock that had to be chiseled flat by the lighthouse keeper's son and read "IN MEMORY OF THE SHIP ANNIE C. MAGUIRE WRECKED ON THIS POINT DEC 24, 1886." It was also adorned with a makeshift cross.

A second rock was painted later that reads "ANNIE C. MAGUIRE SHIPWRECKED HERE CHRISTMAS EVE 1886."