Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine

© S. Greg Panosian/Getty Image

Guiding ships to safety

National Lighthouse Day brings us to Port Clyde, Maine, where Marshall Point Lighthouse keeps watch over the Atlantic. Lighthouses have long played an important role in seafaring, and they retain a certain allure to many—symbolic of a way of life that’s often romanticized. Many modern lighthouses offer tours and some even let guests stay overnight, where you can get a feel for what it was like for traditional lighthouse keepers who tended to the light in the days of oil lamps .