U.S. Lake Erie Lighthouses Gretchen S. Curtis Lakeside, Ohio July 2011 U.S. Lighthouse Organizations • Original Light House Service 1789 – 1851 • Quasi-military Light House Board 1851 – 1910 • Light House Service under the Department of Commerce 1910 – 1939 • Final incorporation of the service into the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. In the beginning… Lighthouse Architects & Contractors • Starting in the 1790s, contractors bid on LH construction projects advertised in local newspapers. • Bids reviewed by regional Superintendent of Lighthouses, a political appointee, who informed U.S. Treasury Dept of his selection. • Superintendent approved final contract and supervised contractor during building process. Creation of Lighthouse Board • Effective in 1852, U.S. Lighthouse Board assumed all duties related to navigational aids. • U.S. divided into 12 LH districts with inspector (naval officer) assigned to each district. • New LH construction supervised by district inspector with primary focus on quality over cost, resulting in greater LH longevity. • Soon, an engineer (army officer) was assigned to each district to oversee construction & maintenance of lights. Lighthouse Bd Responsibilities • Location of new / replacement lighthouses • Appointment of district inspectors, engineers and specific LH keepers • Oversight of light-vessels of Light-House Service • Establishment of detailed rules of operation for light-vessels and light-houses and creation of rules manual. “The Light-Houses of the United States” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Dec 1873 – May 1874 … “The Light-house Board carries on and provides for an infinite number of details, many of them petty, but none unimportant.” “The Light-Houses of the United States” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Dec 1873 – May 1874 “There is a printed book of 152 pages specially devoted to instructions and directions to light-keepers. In this they receive explicit commands not only for their daily duties, but for all possible accidents and emergencies.” Preferred Qualities for Lighthouse Keepers • Men ages 18 to 50 years • Married • Capable of hard, physical work • Knowledge of ships • Quiet, reserved personality (not vexed by boredom) Keeper Salaries • Pay distributed based on location and function of lighthouse. • Pay rate for women same as men. • 1835 (< 195 keeper positions) – 56% earned $250 to $375 – 29% earned $400 to $460 – 15% earned $500 to $600 1855 (376 keeper positions) – 44% of all keepers earned $350 – 50% earned $150 to $375 – 40% earned $400 to $550 – 10% earned $600 to $1100 Women Keepers, 1829-1859 • 53 women identified as principal lighthouse keepers during four decades before Civil War • 43 were widows appointed to husband‟s role after his death with illness or accident • 3 were daughters & 1 sister living with widowed wife of keeper • Reasons for appointment of widows: – Competent person needed quickly to fill empty role – Social view that widows & orphans were economically dependent and deserving of charity. • If widow remarried, new husband became keeper or woman was dismissed. Official Lighthouse Service Flag 1910 - 1939 Clamshell Lens 1910 Light-house Service uniform Fresnel Lens Salute to the Fresnel Lens • Invented 1820 by Augustin Fresnel, Fr. Scientist • Fresnel lens had central lamp surrounded by beehive pattern of refracting prisms and glass rings which bent & guided light outward in horizontal beams. • Fresnel system increased light intensity 400%. • Fresnel lenses, weighing thousands of pounds, were mounted on steel pedestals & floated in trough of mercury. Driven by clockwork system with weights that had to would by keeper every 2-4 hours. • All Grt Lakes lights given new Fresnel lens 1852-59, usually fourth & fifth order for harbor markers. Classification of Fresnel Lenses • Classified into seven sizes or orders, with higher number lens being less powerful. • E.g., 6th order lens less than one foot in diameter and 1st order lens was 6 feet in diameter and 12 feet high. • First order lens had > 1000 prisms. • Expensive and cost increased with power. U.S. Coast Guard Inventory: New York – 4; Pennsylvania – 2; Ohio - 11 NY: Buffalo Main Light (Inactive) • First light was erected on this site at mouth of Buffalo River in 1818. That beacon and the old Erie Land (PA) light were the first light- houses officially erected on the Great Lakes. • Octagonal carved Queenston limestone tower (at left) erected in 1833. • 57-foot tower received a Third Order Fresnel lens in 1856. • Watch room has deeply recessed windows; tower is capped by an 8-sided iron lantern room. • In 1914, a nearby breakwater lighthouse was restored & stone tower was decommissioned. NY: Buffalo South Breakwater (Active) • Round, steel structure, built at end of a pier, marks south entrance to Buffalo harbor. • Black base supports 30-ft high white tower topped by lantern room with diamond-shaped window panes. • Located on property of former Bethlehem Steel Company, near steel mill slip, in Lackawanna. NY: Dunkirk (Point Gratiot) Light (Active) • Built on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie in 1875 to replace a 1829 light. • Square brick tower,initially round, was squared, according to local tradition, to blend better with angular dwelling. • Lantern room houses a Third Order Fresnel lens that is still active and visible for 17 miles. • Tower is connected by an enclosed brick passageway to the brick dwelling of High Victorian Gothic style. • Station is leased to a veterans non- profit that maintains a museum open April to November. NY: Barcelona Light (Inactive) • Built in 1829 with conical fieldstone tower and attached fieldstone dwelling, after local residents hoped to generate commerce for Portland, NY area. • Light decommissioned in 1859 when Lighthouse Board discovered Barcelona had no harbor. Lantern & light removed and replaced with wooden frame. • Station was sold at auction in 1872. (See 1900 photo) Remains a private residence. • Given National Historic Landmark status in 1972. Pennsylvania‟s Lake Erie Lighthouses PA: Erie Land Light (Inactive) • The 41 foot conical sandstone tower was built in 1867 to replace an 1819 light with its 2nd tower constructed in 1857. • Originally known as Presque Isle Station, name was changed to Erie Light Station in 1870; now known as Erie Land Light. • Light was discontinued in 1881 and re- lighted in 1885. Light again discontinued in 1897. • Lantern room and Fourth Order Fresnel Lens were removed to Marblehead (OH) where the tower had been extended. • Tower renovated; historically accurate (1897) lantern room returned to tower. PA: Presque Isle Light (Active) • Built in 1873, the 68-foot tall square brick tower with Fourth Order lens and attached two-story dwelling is located on Presque Isle peninsula near Erie, PA. • This lighthouse replaced the 1867 Erie Land Light. • The dwelling is now used as a residence for park employees. Ohio‟s Eastern Lighthouses Conneaut to Vermilion Conneaut Light • Conneaut‟s 1st pierhead light built in 1835 when port busy shipping grain, whiskey & forest products. • In the 1890s, a 2nd Conneaut Lighthouse was built at the end of a pier and served until 1917 (below.). Conneaut Light • In 1917, a new lighthouse was built for $125,000 on a cement crib, located at the end of the harbor‟s west side breakwater. The unique, square 2-story brick & cement edifice had a light tower rising an additional story from one corner. • In 1935, the cement lighthouse was blasted from its bedrock grip on the crib using dynamite. Current Conneaut Light (1935) • Sleek tower costing $70,000 erected in 1935. • Nominated & selected for National Register of Historic Places by Ohio State Historic Pre- servation Office in 1992. • “In the 1930s there was a conscious effort to represent the machine age, speed & effici- ency. This lighthouse style is an attempt to look modern & to make a break from past.” • Tower light could be seen for 17 miles and fog horn could be heard from 15 miles. • In early years, LH was controlled remotely from a shore house by keeper & 2 assistants. • Light inactive Dec 25 to Mar 1, when the keepers would alternate taking vacations. Conneaut Light’s Future In May 2007, lighthouse, deemed excess by Coast Guard, offered at no cost to eligible entities, including federal, state & local agencies, non-profit corporations and educational organizations. No qualified owner was found. First online auction in Sept 2008 unsuccessful. Next online auction in July 2011 with minimum bid of $5,000. Bids closed 7/27. After 77 years, what is the future of Conneaut‟s modern light tower? Ashtabula Harbor Light (Active) • Ashtabula's 1st LH was an 1836 hexagonal tower atop a 40-ft-square wooden crib connected to Ashtabula River‟s east pier by a ramp. The first keeper on record was Samuel Miniger (1837-1838) whose charge was to keep the beacon‟s seven lamps burning using sperm whale oil. • In 1876, a new lighthouse was built, this time on the west pierhead due to construction of new docks. The tower received a Fourth Order Fresnel lens and fixed red light in 1896, at which time a siren fog signal was added. The pyramidal LH served the harbor for almost thirty years. Ashtabula Light (Active) • In 1905, Ashtabula River was widened & breakwall built to protect harbor. LH #3, still in use today, built atop new break- water. The new light stood 40 feet high and was made of steel and iron. • In 1915, 1905 breakwall was extended. In 1916 LH was moved to present site, doubled in size to house keepers and 4th order Fresnel lens installed. • LH remained manned by Coast Guard until 1973, the last remaining manned light on Lake Erie. Fairport Main (old) Light (Inactive) • Fairport Harbor was the site of an 1825 light known as The Grand River Light with an adjacent keeper‟s house. • The Grand River LH was a 'station" on the underground railroad in 1840s-50s. • A new brick lighthouse (left) with conical sandstone tower and Third Order Fresnel lens was built in 1871.