Captain Joshua Freeman Strout

Capt. Joshua Strout, a native of Cape Elizabeth and a former sea captain, became keeper in 1869 for $620 per year. Strout’s mother had worked as a housekeeper at Portland Head for Joshua Freeman in the 1820s, and she named her son for the keeper. Joshua Strout went to sea at the age of 11 and served as the cook on a tugboat by the time he was 18. He later captained a number of vessels and traveled as far as Cuba and South America. Injuries suffered in a severe fall from the masthead of the Andres forced him to give up his life at sea in exchange for the somewhat more tranquil life of a lighthouse keeper at the Portland Head Lighthouse.

Strout's wife, Mary, became assistant keeper at a salary of $480 per year. She held the position until 1877, when her son Joseph took on the title of assistant keeper. Joshua and Mary Strout raised 11 children at the station.

A hurricane on September 8, 1869, knocked the fog bell into a ravine, nearly killing Joshua Strout. A new tower with a 2,000-pound bell and a Stevens striking mechanism was built the following year. The bell was soon replaced by a fog trumpet. In 1887, an engine for the fog signal was moved from Boston Light to Portland Head. An air-diaphragm chime horn was installed in 1938.

Source: "New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide"