The Maine Department of Marine Resources’ Burnt Island Living Lighthouse has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977, but it wasn’t until June 27 that it received its official plaque.

On a picture perfect Maine summer day, guests, including former Coast Guard lighthouse keepers, traveled aboard the Novelty to attend a small celebration, which was choreographed by the Keepers of Burnt Island Light.

Keeper Howard Wright and “his wife” Jean McKay greeted guests at the dock and escorted them to the Island’s Education Center.

There Education Director Elaine Jones, the driving force behind Burnt Island’s restoration and education programs, engagingly recounted the restoration effort’s history and outlined the next steps she hopes to complete before the lighthouse’s bicentennial in 2021. Since its restoration in 1998, Burnt Island Lighthouse has provided numerous education programs for students, teachers and the general public, including the living lighthouse program, where actors recreate daily life as it was on Burnt Island in the 1950s.

After brief remarks from Wright, Board President Jack Bauman and State Historian Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., Shettleworth and Wright unveiled the new plaque. Former Coast Guard Light keepers Roy Seig and Randy Griffing shared some amusing tales from their days living on Burnt Island and then there was cake, goodies and tours of the lighthouse grounds and buildings.

In dedicating herself to completing the restoration and positioning Burnt Island for long-term financial stability, Jones noted the accessibility of the 5-acre island just a mile offshore from Boothbay Harbor.

“I call it the People’s Light,” Jones said, “Because anyone is welcome here anytime.”

For updated information on Burnt Island, visit www.keepersofburntislandlight.com. The Keepers became a 501(c)3 public charitable organization in 2008 to manage the Living Lighthouse program and to serve as caretakers of the island.