Juniper Island is a island in Lake Champlain, approximately southwest of Burlington, Vermont's King Street Ferry Dock. The island is home to the

Juniper Island Light The Juniper Island Light on Juniper Island in Vermont is the oldest light station on Lake Champlain and the oldest surviving cast iron lighthouse in the United States. History A light station was established on the island in 1826, displacing a ...

house. The

State of Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

purchased the island for $200 in 1825 and ceded it to the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

. A brick tower and keeper's house were constructed. Up to that point, lanterns hung on trees by landowners up and down the lake had served navigation; this would be the first true

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

on the lake. Apparently due to poor workmanship or materials or both, the original lighthouse had to be replaced less than twenty years later. That second lighthouse (a tower consisting of four cast iron rings) is still there, though retired, and is the oldest cast iron lighthouse remaining in the US. A skeleton tower light took over in 1954. Two years later, Juniper Island was sold at auction to

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Fred Fayette. The keeper's house was severely damaged by fire in 1962 and not repaired, though the tower and a separate shed for a fog bell were undamaged. Fayette's family inherited the property, and in 2001 they constructed a new dwelling using nearly 18,000 bricks salvaged from the ruins of the original house. Two years later a new, taller tower replaced that of 1954. The family plans to restore the old tower, but it is unlikely to be relit (as has been done with other lights on the lake) since trees on the island obscure it from the water.

References

{{authority control Islands of Lake Champlain South Burlington, Vermont Landforms of Chittenden County, Vermont Lake islands of Vermont