OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - Know your Ohio: The Great Lake Erie [4] *********************************************************************** OHGENWEB NOTICE: All distribution rights to this electronic data are reserved by the submitter. Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted material will require the permission of the copyright owner. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. *********************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 October 1, 2000 *********************************************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio Diaries of S. J. Kelly Plains Dealer Know Your Ohio by Darlene E. Kelley *********************************************************************** The Great Lake Erie -- part 4 Lake Erie / Lighthouses/ Aids to Navagation-- With her short hauls and heavy traffic, Lake Erie always has been a cozier body of water than other Lakes, especially when compared with the cold and aloof reaches of upper Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Sometimes this closeness between Lake and shore could become grimly intimate. leading to many notices appearing in the shipping news of the seasons of navigation. With heavy fog and gales it became imminent that aids to navigaion was needed with boats crisscrossing along the way, making Lake Erie too cozy for comfort even in the slightest haze or fog. There is a story told about a freighter Captain while transversing a certain section of Lake Erie during a particularly heavy blow, upon seeing a light in the direct path of his boat radioed the oncoming vessel that he was in imminent danger, in the path of his boat, and to please " Give Way ." Contact was made and the reply came, " Captain forgive us but we will not move." The freighter Captain, incensed that this vessel would not give way, replied in a terse manner that they would surely perish in the path of the freighter and to please give way immediately!. Once again the reply came that they would not give way, but in fact couldn't give way for they were in fact were the lighthouse and not a vessel at sea at all-- the freighter Captain sheepishly changed course and continued unharmed throughout the night. Ohio has at least 18 lighthouses on Lake Erie, of which at least 10 are still active. This total includes some smaller towers which meet the defination of a lighthouse at best. The Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial at Put-in-Bay is not included; it is considered to be a day mark 352 ft high, but not a lighthouse. There is no state lighthouse preservation society in Ohio, but many of the towers are supported by local societies. Because the most hazzardous areas for those crossing Lake Erie, was the southwest passage between Bass Islands to the north, and the Marblehead Peninsula and Catawba Island to the south. The narrowness of the channel combined with frequent storms and a rocky shoreline meant that shipwrecks in this area was common. Because of these dangers, and simply to aid transportation in the area, Congress in 1822 appropriated $10,000 for a new lighthouse to be placed " at or between the mouth of the Grand River in the Territory of Michigan. " The fibal location chosen, the tip of Marblehead Penninsula, was called Rocky Point. Sandusky contractor Stephen Wolverton and his crew went to work there and fashioned a beautiful tower from Native limestone taken from William Kelley of Kelley's Island. The first keeper, Benajah Wolcott, accepted the contractor's work on behalf of the Government in a letter dated Jun 17, 1822. After ten years on the job, Benajah Wolcott died in a cholera outbreak, and the tending of the Marblehead lighthouse fell to his wife, Rachel, who earned the ditinction of becoming the first female lighthouse keeper on the Great Lakes. She continued in this capacity for nearly two years. The original specifications called for the tower to be fifty feet above the ground, the base to be twenty-five feet in diameter, and the diameter of the top to be twelve feet. In 1897, fifteen feet of brick construction was added to the top of the tower, its height increased to sixty-five feet. This addition created added space for a watch room as well to accomodate a better lighting system. At this time, a rotating mechanism called a clockwork system was installed to rotate the light, giving it an intermittent signal. The mechanism was like a grandfather clock, its weights contained in a large pipe in the center of the tower. Each night, every three hours, the keeper cranked the weights up to the top and, as the weights descended, the metal table revolved causing the light to flash. Built in 1822, Marblehead Lighthouse is the oldest continuously operated lighthouse on the Great Lakes and is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. It has become the subject of a commemorative U. S. postage stamp and is featured on Ohio's Lake Erie license plate. It now belongs to the Ohio State Parks System. Ohio's Inventory of Historic light Stations--- Astabula Harbor Light [ 1905 ] Location; Astabula Harbor Ent/ Lake Erie Current use; Active aid to navigation Cleaveland Harbor Pierhead Lights [ 1911 ] Location; Cleveland Harbor Entrance/ Lake Erie Current use; Active aid to navigation. Conneaut Harbor West Breakwater Light [1936] Location; Conneaut River Entrance / Lake Erie. Current use; Active aid to navigation Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light [1925 ] Location; Grand River Entrance/ Lake Erie Current use; Active aid to navigation. Grand River ( Fairport Harbor ) Light [1871 ] Location; Fairport Harbor / Lake Erie. Current use; Museum Huron Harbor Light [ 1936 ] Location; Lake Erie Current use; Active aid to navigation. Lorain Light [ 1917 ] Location; West Harbor Breakwater / Lake Erie. Current use; Community Landmark. Marblehead Light [ Formally Sandusky Bay Light ] [1821] Location; Sandusky Bay Entrance / Lake Erie Current use; Active aid to navigation / Historic site. South Bass Island Light [ 1897 ] Location; South Bass Island / w. Lake Erie Current use; Tower is active aid to navigation / old tower is part of a biological research facility. Toledo Harbor Light [1904 ] Location; Maumee River / Maumee Bay / Lake Erie Current use; Active aid to navigation. West Sister Island Light [ 1848 ] Location; Maumee Bay Entrance/ west end Lake Erie Current use; Active aid to navigation in National Wildlife Refuge. ***************************************************** to be continued in part 5.