Several weeks ago, I received a question from one of my faithful blog readers. She asked if I had taken a picture of the Marblehead Lighthouse with snow. My response was I never visited lighthouses during the winter, so I didn't have a picture.
Since the question, I have wondered what that lighthouse would look like if I had been there after a big snowfall. I still don't have a picture but do have an imagination. -- Can you see the three inches of white, fluffy undisturbed snow covering the ground in front of the lighthouse? And those sagging tree limbs covered with snow weighing them down? Do you notice the lighthouse enthusiasts around the top of the tower, dressed in their winter attire? They appear to be enjoying the beautiful snow covered landscape of the Sandusky Bay area. Since the sun is shining, I imagine the snow will begin melting first from the trees. -- Enough imagination.
Here's a real narrative to go with the true picture above.
The Marblehead 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. Originally, the tower was built to a height of fifty-feet and constructed with native limestone. At the turn of the century an additional fifteen-feet were added to the tower's height. The base of the tower is twenty-five feet in diameter and the wall at the base is five-feet thick. The tower narrows to twelve-feet in diameter at the top with the walls there two-feet thick.
Since the question, I have wondered what that lighthouse would look like if I had been there after a big snowfall. I still don't have a picture but do have an imagination. -- Can you see the three inches of white, fluffy undisturbed snow covering the ground in front of the lighthouse? And those sagging tree limbs covered with snow weighing them down? Do you notice the lighthouse enthusiasts around the top of the tower, dressed in their winter attire? They appear to be enjoying the beautiful snow covered landscape of the Sandusky Bay area. Since the sun is shining, I imagine the snow will begin melting first from the trees. -- Enough imagination.
Here's a real narrative to go with the true picture above.
The Marblehead 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. Originally, the tower was built to a height of fifty-feet and constructed with native limestone. At the turn of the century an additional fifteen-feet were added to the tower's height. The base of the tower is twenty-five feet in diameter and the wall at the base is five-feet thick. The tower narrows to twelve-feet in diameter at the top with the walls there two-feet thick.
Thirteen whale oil lamps with sixteen-inch-diameter metal reflectors provided the original lights to help project the light across the lake. Those were later replaced by a kerosene lantern. 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. They accepted ownership of the light tower in 1998 from the Coast Guard.
At the time of my visit there in 1998, the U.S. Coast Guard
continued to operate and maintain the lighthouse beacon. Its 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.
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