The Portland Head Light, located in beautiful Cape Elizabeth, is the oldest lighthouse in the state of Maine. In 1787, while Maine was still a part of Massachusetts, George Washington commissioned two masons from nearby Portland, Jonathan Bryant and John Nichols, to oversee construction of the lighthouse using easily sourced local material since our early government was not very well financed. The lighthouse was completed on January 10, 1791 with its first keeper, Joseph K. Greenleaf, appointed by George Washington. The light is still in use today and well worth a visit to the rocky coast of southern Maine.