About Our Organization

Photo by Kaleb Kloppe

Mission Statement

The mission of the Maine Lighthouse Trust is to support Maine’s lighthouse organizations, preservation and restoration groups, nonprofits, and other affiliated organizations to save Maine’s iconic lighthouses and lighthouse heritage through restoration and education for current and future generations via an annual grant program funded by proceeds from Maine’s first lighthouse specialty license plate.

Vision Statement

 The Maine Lighthouse Trust will endeavor to support those who:

  1. Honor the irreplaceable historic legacy of our lighthouses throughout the state of Maine with their preservation/restoration efforts.

  2. Honor the maritime heritage of the keepers and their families who have kept mariners safe for generations.

  3. Foster public awareness of Maine’s historic lighthouses through education, publication, and museums.

  4. Recognize and promote the intrinsic value of these icons and the communities in which they are located.

Sean P. Murphy, Paddy D. Murphy

It all started when…

The Maine Lighthouse Trust is an undertaking of Sean Murphy. Sean, who is a United States Coast Guard (USCG) licensed master captain, has charted the coast of Maine all his life.

After watching his local lighthouse, Wood Island Light, fall into disrepair after being unmanned in 1986, he knew he had to act. He reached out to the American Lighthouse Foundation and formed a local chapter to save Wood Island Light. After seventeen years, the property that was on Lighthouse Digest’s doomsday list has been totally renovated inside and out. The group has raised well over half a million dollars and has provided thousands of tours to the offshore island aboard the group’s custom-built landing craft that Sean designed and operates.

The idea of a Maine specialty license plate had been a dream of Sean’s for over ten years. When he retired from a decorated twenty-five year career as a state police sargeant, he then decided to advance his dream of helping the greater Maine lighthouse community.

In addition to the hundreds of hours donated to Wood Island each year, Sean, who is trained as an army combat engineer, volunteers for various veteran’s groups and has been a big brother with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. He is a court-recognized expert forensic photographer and a tactical photographer whose images have been recognized by Time Life as the best images of the year.

"Your commitment to answer our crucial need to build a new walkway, in the likeness of the old historic walkway, is greatly appreciated."

Friends of the Doubling Point Light

Photo by Larry Myhre