Because of poor workmanship (salt water was used in the mortar mix), the lighthouse began to crumble and was replaced in 1835.

Keeper Isaac Dunham oversaw the construction and wrote in a letter to the US Lighthouse Establishment that the agreement was upheld and the work went well.

The original light was an Argand-Lewis parabolic reflector, lit with candles and with a visibility of 2 miles (3.2 km).

The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places as 'Pemaquid Point Light' on April 16, 1985, reference number 85000843.

The keeper's house is now the Fishermen's Museum at Pemaquid,[9] which contains displays and artifacts of the lighthouse and local maritime history.

[11] Underground heat and pressure tortured and folded the rock layers into the striking patterns that are now pounded and polished by the sea and rough weather.