Horse Island Light

Last updated
Horse Island Light
Sackettsharbor.JPG
Horse Island Light
Location Horse Island, Sackets Harbor, Jefferson County, US
Coordinates 43°56′35″N76°08′40″W / 43.9431°N 76.1444°W / 43.9431; -76.1444
Tower
Constructed1831  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Constructionlimestone (foundation), brick (tower)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Automated1957  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Height21 m (69 ft)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Shapesquare  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Markingswhite (tower), black (lantern)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
First lit1870  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Deactivated1957  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Lensfifth order Fresnel lens  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Active light OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Constructed1957  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Constructionsteel  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Focal height57 ft (17 m)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Range5 mi (8.0 km)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Characteristic Fl W 2.5s  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Horse Island Light, also known as Sackets Harbor Light, is located on Horse Island in Sackets Harbor, Jefferson County in New York on Lake Ontario. In July 2017 the 24-acre island was acquired for preservation by the Civil War Trust, aided by a grant from the National Park Service. This was the first grant in the United States made for a War of 1812 site under the NPS battlefield grants program. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

Horse Island Light is listed on the National Park Service's Maritime Heritage Program as a "Lighthouse to Visit" and as one of New York's Historic Light Stations. [4]

A modern steel skeletal tower replaced the lighthouse as an Aid to Navigation in 1957, [5] and the lighthouse and property were sold. It is now in private hands and not open to the public. The keepers quarters were built in 1870, and consisted of a 1+12 story Queen Anne/Italianate brick house. There was also a barn and oil house on the property.

During the War of 1812, the British used Horse Island as a staging area before the Battle of Sackett's Harbor. In July 2017, the 24-acre Horse Island, located near the village, was acquired for preservation by the Civil War Trust, aided by a grant from the National Park Service. It was the site of a War of 1812 engagement. This was the first time in the US that a grant from the American Battlefield Land Grant program has been used to preserve a War of 1812 site. [2]

The lighthouse keeper at one time was Schuyler Shibley Simmons. [6]

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Horse island is a historical site recognized in many primary sourced letters and battle records. It is an egg-shaped island with an area of about 24 acres, located in Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario in upstate New York. The island was the site of the Battle of Sacket's Harbor and has a notable lighthouse on it.   

References

  1. Daniel E. Dempster; Todd R. Berge (2002). Lighthouses of the Great Lakes. Voyageur Press. p. 146. ISBN   9781610604376.
  2. 1 2 "Campaign 1776 Announces First Battlefield Preservation Victories in New York State", Civil War Trust
  3. ARLHS World List of Lights
  4. National Park Service's Maritime Heritage Program's Inventory of NY Historic Light Stations
  5. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
  6. [ancestry.com]

Further reading