The Grand River (Fairport Harbor) Light is located in the village of
Fairport Harbor, Ohio
Fairport Harbor is a village in Lake County, Ohio, United States, along Lake Erie at the mouth of the Grand River. The population was 3,109 at the 2010 census.
Fairport Harbor is home to two lighthouses: the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Li ...
. The lighthouse was built in 1871 and has a 60-foot tower with a detached keeper's house. The light was decommissioned in 1925, replaced by the
Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light.
At one time the
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
considered using the keeper's house to house their personnel and demolish the tower but a letter writing campaign by local residents prevented it from happening. In 1945 the
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
turned over ownership of the light to the town.
The tower is open to the public and the keeper's house currently serves as the Fairport Harbor Marine Museum and Lighthouse (the first of its kind in the country), operated by the Fairport Harbor Historical Society. Visitors can climb the lighthouse for a view of the harbor. Founded in 1945, the museum features exhibits about the history of the lighthouse and its keepers, a
Fresnel
Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Newton's corpuscular the ...
lens,
lifesaving
Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue; however, it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. ...
equipment, life on the Great Lakes, ship models and maritime artifacts. There is a gift shop. The former
pilothouse
The interior of the bridge of the Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska">RV_Sikuliaq.html" ;"title="Research Vessel ''RV Sikuliaq">Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska
file:Wheelhouse of Leao Dos Mares.jpg, Wheelhouse on a tugboat, topp ...
from the Great Lakes carrier the ''Frontenac'' is attached to the museum's building. The museum is open seasonally, and is located at 129 Second Street. The lighthouse and museum are said to be
haunted
Haunted or The Haunted may refer to:
Books
* ''Haunted'' (Armstrong novel), by Kelley Armstrong, 2005
* ''Haunted'' (Cabot novel), by Meg Cabot, 2004
* ''Haunted'' (Palahniuk novel), by Chuck Palahniuk, 2005
* ''Haunted'' (Angel novel), a 200 ...
. Legend has it that a
ghost cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
haunts the facility. Volunteers and tourists alike have reported feeling a cat rub against them, although the cat is never seen.
Haunted Lighthouses: Fairport Harbor.
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Location
The Grand River (Fairport Harbor) Light is located at the intersection of Second and High Streets in the village of Fairport Harbor
Fairport Harbor is a village in Lake County, Ohio, United States, along Lake Erie at the mouth of the Grand River. The population was 3,109 at the 2010 census.
Fairport Harbor is home to two lighthouses: the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Li ...
.
See also
* List of maritime museums in the United States
List of maritime museums in the United States is a sortable list of American museums which display objects related to ships and water travel. Many of these maritime museums have museum ships in their collections. Member museums of the Council o ...
Notes
Sources
*
Further reading
Harrison, Timothy, ''The lights and Lost Lights of Fairport Harbor'', (October, 2001)
Lighthouse Digest
''Lighthouse Digest'', a specialty magazine from FogHorn Publishing in East Machias, Maine, is about maritime history with particular attention to the preservation of lighthouses and their past. Though it is geared toward enthusiasts and ant ...
.
* Oleszewski, Wes. ''Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses'', (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) .
* U.S. Coast Guard. ''Historically Famous Lighthouses'' (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1957).
* Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia. ''Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia'' Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006)
External links
*
*
Fairport Harbor Marine Museum and LighthouseAnderson, Kraig. Lighthouse Friends
*
Virtual Fairport Harbor
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Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio
Lighthouse museums in Ohio
Museums in Lake County, Ohio
Lighthouses completed in 1871
National Register of Historic Places in Lake County, Ohio