History
The first Vermilion Lighthouse was a wooden structure that was built in 1847 by a $3,000 grant from the Congress of the United States. In 1859 the lighthouse received a $5000 renovation that rebuilt the structure and added a whale oil lamp and 6th order Fresnel lens. In 1866 Congress appropriated funds to build a new, permanent lighthouse made from iron. Cast in Buffalo, New York in three tapering octagonal sections, the iron used for the lighthouse was recycled from smooth-bored Columbian cannons that had been rendered obsolete after the Battle of Fort Sumter in the American Civil War. As Vermilion native Ernest Wakefield wrote, “The iron, therefore, of the 1877 Vermilion lighthouse echoed and resonated with the terrible trauma of the War Between the States.” [1] The ironworkers used sand molds of three tapering rings, octahedral in shape.
Completed in 1877, the new lighthouse was 34 feet (10 m) high and had an oil lantern with a 5th order Fresnel lens. In 1919 the oil lantern was replaced with an acetylene light. After it was discovered to be leaning to one side, in 1929 the lighthouse was removed and replaced with an 18 feet (5.5 m) steel tower. The old iron lighthouse was transported back to Buffalo where it was later renovated and reinstalled as the East Charity Shoal Light on the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1935.
Marblehead Lighthouse in Marblehead, Ohio, United States, is the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the American side of the Great Lakes. It has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822, and is an active aid to navigation.
Chatham Lighthouse, known as Twin Lights prior to 1923, is a lighthouse in Chatham, Massachusetts, near the "elbow" of Cape Cod. The original station, close to the shore, was built in 1808 with two wooden towers, which were both replaced in 1841. In 1877, two new towers, made of cast iron rings, replaced those. One of the towers was moved to the Eastham area, where it became known as Nauset Light in 1923.
The Toledo Harbor Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Lake Erie near Toledo, Ohio, in the United States. The light replaced the 1837 lighthouse on Turtle Island at the mouth of the Maumee River. It is an active aid to navigation.
The Devils Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Devils Island, one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior in Ashland County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield.
The Algoma Light or Algoma Pierhead Light is a lighthouse located near Algoma in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.
The DeTour Reef Light is a non-profit-operated lighthouse marking the southern entrance of the DeTour Passage between the eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Drummond Island. The light is an automated active aid to navigation. It marks the northern end of Lake Huron. The passage is used by almost all of the Great Lakes commercial freighter traffic moving to and from Lake Superior, with approximately 5,000 vessel movements annually. It is said to be "the gateway to Lake Superior." In addition, many recreational boaters use the passage. The Light is located in Lake Huron, three miles (5 km) south of the nearest town, DeTour Village, Michigan.
The first Saginaw River lighthouse was constructed from 1839 to 1841, in a period when large quantities of lumber were being harvested and shipped from the heart of Michigan via river and the Great Lakes to the East Coast of the United States via the Erie Canal and Hudson River. This connection to major eastern markets was critical to the development of central Michigan.
Braddock Point Light was a lighthouse just west of Braddock Bay at Bogus Point on Lake Ontario in New York.
Buffalo Harbor North and South entrance Lights are lighthouses located at the entrance to Buffalo harbor in New York. The south light is at Stony Point breakwater, and the North light was relocated.
The Buffalo North breakwater East end Light was a lighthouse originally located on the North breakwater East End of Buffalo harbor, New York. It has since been relocated from the North Harbor entrance and sits on display near the Buffalo Main Light on the grounds of the United States Coast Guard station at the end of Furman Blvd on the Buffalo waterfront.
Dunkirk Light, also known as Point Gratiot Light, is an active lighthouse located at Point Gratiot on Lake Erie in New York state.
The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse is an automated active lighthouse, and stands at the south end of the northern breakwater protecting the Chicago Harbor, to the east of Navy Pier and the mouth of the Chicago River.
The Erie Land Light, also known as the Old Presque Isle Light, is a lighthouse on the shore of Lake Erie in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is one of the three lighthouses in Erie, along with the Presque Isle Light and the North Pier Light. The lighthouse is situated on the bluffs overlooking the lake in Lighthouse Park east of downtown Erie.
The Little Sable Point Light is a lighthouse located south of Pentwater in the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the southwest corner of Golden Township, just south of Silver Lake State Park.
Ashtabula Harbor Light is a lighthouse in Ashtabula, Ohio. It was listed in the National Register on August 8, 1983.
Tawas Point Light is located in the Tawas Point State Park off Tawas Bay in Lake Huron in Baldwin Township in Northern Michigan.
The Harbor Beach Lighthouse is a "sparkplug lighthouse" located at the end of the north breakwall entrance to the harbor of refuge on Lake Huron. The breakwall and light were created by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to protect the harbor of Harbor Beach, Michigan, which is the largest man-made freshwater harbor in the world. Harbor Beach is located on the eastern edge of the Thumb of Huron County, in the state of Michigan.
East Charity Shoal Light is an offshore lighthouse located near the Saint Lawrence River's entrance in northeastern Lake Ontario, due south of the city of Kingston, Ontario and approximately five miles (8 km) southwest of Wolfe Island. It is on the southeast rim of a 3,300-foot-diameter (1,000 m) submerged circular depression known as Charity Shoal Crater that may be the remnants of a meteorite impact.
Buffalo North Breakwater South End Light is a lighthouse formerly located at the entrance to Buffalo Harbor, Buffalo, New York. It is one of two "bottle shaped" beacons located in Buffalo Harbor; the other is the South Buffalo North Side Light. It is a 29-foot (8.8 m) high beacon constructed of boiler plate. It measures 10 feet 3⁄4 inch (3.067 m) at the bottom and 2 feet 3 inches (0.69 m) at the top. It is distinguished by four cast iron port windows and a curved iron door. It was first lit on September 1, 1903, and originally equipped with a 6th-order Fresnel lens. A battery operated 12 volt lamp with a 12 inches (300 mm) green plastic lens was installed in the beacon c. 1960, when a domed roof formerly mounted over the lens was removed. The beacon was removed in 1985, and now stands on the grounds of the Buffalo (main) Light. Its twin is located at the Dunkirk Lighthouse and Veterans Park Museum.
Rawley Point Light is a lighthouse located in Point Beach State Forest, near Two Rivers, Wisconsin. At 111 feet (34 m) tall, it is the tallest lighthouse on the Wisconsin Shore and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
