Ohio - Fairport Harbor Lighthouse

This lighthouse is located at Fairport Harbor, OH - Lake Erie, not far from the entrance of the Grand River to Lake Erie. This is the second lighthouse and keepers dwelling to be built at this location. The original tower and dwelling were built in 1825, but due to deterioration and movement of the foundation they were replaced in 1871. The present tower was built of Bera sandstone. The lantern room housed a third order Fresnel lens. The two structures served the Great Lakes shipping lane for over 100 years, but in 1925 the lighthouse was decommissioned.

At the time of my visit in 2001, the Keepers dwelling had been converted into a museum. This museum is the first Great Lakes lighthouse museum in Ohio, and first in the U.S. The museum was established in 1945 by the Fairport Harbor Historical Society.

Ohio - Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse

This lighthouse is located at the Grand River entrance to Lake Erie at Fairport, OH. It was built in 1925 and replaced a previous lighthouse here. It consist of a two story keepers dwelling with attached light tower standing 42 feet high. At the time of my visit in 2001 this light was an active light and automated. I took this picture from the Headland Beach State Park, Mentor, OH.

Ohio - Perry Monument / Lighthouse

First of all, this is not officially a lighthouse but is recognized as providing navigational assistance to the mariners on Lake Erie. This is due to the 352 foot high Greek doric tower, and at night the tower is lit up with numerous floodlights. I visited this memorial / lighthouse in 1998 and remember how awesome it was to see this tower as you see it in the picture, but also how it towered to the sky at the edge of the waters of Lake Erie.

The Perry Monument is located at South Bass Island, OH near Put-In-Bay. It was built between 1912-1915 and commemorates Commodore Oliver Perry's naval victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. The historic site is five miles from the Canadian-American border. The longest unfortified boundary in the world. The memorial is dedicated to peace throughout the world.

Ohio - Conneaut Breakwater Lighthouse

This lighthouse is located on Fairport Breakwater, marking entrance to the Conneaut River which flows into Lake Erie at Conneaut, OH. The lighthouse was built in 1936 to replace a previous lighthouse built here in 1920. This lighthouse was originally painted white, but later the black band was added to provide a better daymarker for the mariners. At the time of my visit in 2001, this light was active and powered by solar.

Ohio - Marblehead Lighthouse

This lighthouse is located in Marblehead, OH at Sandusky Bay on Lake Erie. It was built in 1822 and is the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes. The tower was originally built to a height of fifty feet and made with native limestone. The base of the tower is twenty-five feet in diameter and the wall there is five-feet thick. The tower narrows to twelve-feet at the top with two-feet thick walls.

Fifteen lighthouse keepers, two of whom were women, have tended to the light. The original lights were thirteen whale oil lamps with sixteen-inch-diameter metal reflectors to help project the light across the lake.

At the turn of the century an additional fifteen-feet were added to the tower's height. A clock-like mechanism was installed to rotate the lantern, creating the appearance of a brilliant flash of light every ten seconds. This required the lighthouse keeper to crank the weights up every three hours through the night in order to keep the lantern turning. In 1923 an electric light replaced the kerosene lantern which dramatically increased the candle-power.

The U.S. Coast Guard took responsibility for the beacon in 1946 after the last civilian lighthouse keeper resigned. They automated the beacon in 1958. The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources has maintained the property surrounding the lighthouse since 1972, and then in 1998 they accepted ownership of the light tower. 

At the time of my visit to this lighthouse in 1998, the U.S. Coast Guard continued to operate and maintain the lighthouse beacon. The 300 mm lens projected a green signal that flashed every six seconds and visible for eleven miles out on the lake. Its green light distinguishes the lighthouse signal from white lights coming from other air beacons.

Ohio - South Bass Island Lighthouse

This lighthouse is located on South Bass Island, OH along Lake Erie off the coast of Port Clinton. It is a two story brick dwelling built in 1897. The light tower is attached to the back of the house facing Lake Erie. Originally, the lantern room housed a fourth order Fresnel lens. The last operating light was deactivated In 1962. When I saw this lighthouse in 1998 it was privately owned and not open to the public. It was during my boat trip to the nearby Put-In-Bay, tourist attraction, that I was able to take this picture.

Michigan - Manistique East Breakwater Lighthouse

The Manistique East Breakwater Light is located at Manistique River, MI. It is on Lake Michigan and marks the entrance to the river. Built in 1916, the light stands fifty feet above the water on top of a red steel tower with concrete base. At the time of my visit in 1998, this light was active and also equipped with radio beacon and fog signal.

Michigan - Escanaba Harbor Crib Lighthouse

The Escanaba Harbor Crib Light sets in the harbor of Escanaba, MI - Lake Michigan. Located several hundred feet off shore, this light was built in 1939 to replace the Sand Point Lighthouse which I featured last week in this blog. At the time of my visit in 1998 this lighthouse was still in use providing navigational assistance to the mariners.

Michigan - Sand Point Lighthouse

       The Sand Point Lighthouse is located at Escanaba, MI, in the upper peninsula of Lake MI. This lighthouse was built in 1867 by the National Lighthouse Service at a cost of $11,000. It's a one-and-a-half-story rectangular brick building which was standard for the times. The attached brick tower was forty-four feet high and topped with a cast iron lantern room which housed a Fourth Order Fresnel lens. The light was a fixed red signal and first showed on the night of 13 May 1868.
       This lighthouse served mariners continuously from 1868 until 1939 with one exception. For a short time during 1886 it was out of commission because of a fire which severely damaged the building. This fire also cost the life of Mary Terry, one of the first women light keepers on the Great Lakes.
       By 1939, the contours of the Escanaba Harbor had been changed by dredging and filling, which left the lighthouse some distance from the Sand Point Hazard for which it had been giving warnings for years. So, upon taking responsibilities for navigational lights that year, the Coast Guard constructed a crib light several hundred feet offshore. The lighthouse, after major alterations, then became the residence for the Officer-in-Charge of the station.
       In 1985 the Coast Guard discontinued use of the building and a lease was negotiated with the Delta County Historical Society. Restoration to the exterior of the lighthouse was completed to return it to its original appearance. The interior spaces were decorated as they would have appeared a hundred years ago, following the 1886 fire.
In 1998 I visited this lighthouse, and it stood as an example of pride and many hours of hard work put forth by the historical society to preserve a piece of Escanaba's local history.

Michigan - Cheboygan Crib Lighthouse

The Cheboygan Crib Lighthouse is located at Cheboygan, MI by Lake Huron. It was built in 1884 to guard the entrance to the Cheboygan River. It is made of cast iron and stands forty feet tall. In 1986 the Coast Guard gave the light to the City of Cheboygan, and it was later relocated on shore. At the time of my visit in 1998 the lighthouse sat in Gordon Turner Park near the river.