Franklin Island, a protected refuge off Muscongus Bay on the Maine coast, spans just twelve acres and is among the smallest units in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, it has both maritime and wildlife significance. The U.S. acquired the island in 1806, and its lighthouse, completed in 1808 as Maine’s third, remained staffed for 160 years before automation in 1967. In 1973 the island became part of the refuge complex. It is also an important seabird nesting site, with common eiders recovering after avian cholera sharply reduced a major colony in the mid-1980s.