ROCKLAND (AP) – The merger of the collections of two lighthouse museums along the Maine coast will create what officials are billing as the largest such museum in the U.S., if not the world.

The partnership between the Museum of Lighthouse History in Wells and the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland was announced Wednesday.

“The lighthouse world has now become centered in Rockland,” said Timothy Harrison, president of the nonprofit American Lighthouse Foundation, which runs the Wells museum. “This will be a mecca for lighthouse lovers.”

Combining the two collections made sense because the Rockland museum focused on the mechanical side of lighthouses, while the Wells collection centered on the life of the lighthouse keeper.

The Wells museum includes equipment from lighthouses around the world, uniforms once worn by the police force protecting U.S. lighthouses, tools, dinnerware and hats worn by those in the lighthouse service dating back to the Civil War.

The Rockland museum got its start four years ago when the Penobscot Bay Region Chamber of Commerce agreed to adopt a collection of lighthouse lenses, equipment and memorabilia salvaged over 35 years by Ken Black, a retired Coast Guardsman.

Harrison said it made sense to locate the combined collection in Rockland, which is within a few miles of several lighthouses, rather than Wells, which is more of a beach community.

“This is where we should be,” he said, also citing the Maine Lighthouse Museum’s location in a spacious, newly renovated facility in which storage, research and educational programs can flourish.

Bob Hastings, executive director and CEO of the chamber of commerce, plans to step aside as general manager of the Maine Lighthouse Museum. His place will be taken by Bob Trapani, who had been executive director of the Wells museum.

“It’s time to turn it over to the lighthouse folks,” Hastings said.

In addition to operating the Wells museum, the American Lighthouse Foundation and its chapters have been involved in the upkeep of 22 historic lighthouses in six states.

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On the Net:

American Lighthouse Foundation: http://www.lighthousefoundation.org

Maine Lighthouse Museum: http://www.mainelighthousemuseum.com

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-12-14-06 1142EST