Marblehead Lighthouse in

Marblehead, Ohio Marblehead is a village in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The population was 903 at the 2010 census. It sits at the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula, which divides Lake Erie proper from Sandusky Bay. Marblehead is part of the area that is ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, is the oldest

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 ...

in continuous operation on the American side of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. It has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822, and is an active

aid to navigation In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

History

In 1819, the fifteenth

U. S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washingt ...

recognized the need for navigational aides along the

and set aside $5,000 for construction of a light tower at the entrance to

Sandusky Bay Sandusky Bay is a bay on Lake Erie in northern Ohio, formed at the mouth of the Sandusky River. It was identified as ''Lac Sandouské'' on a 1718 French map, with early variations recorded that suggest the name was derived from Native American lan ...

. In 1821, contractor William Kelly (assisted by local-area residents Amos Fenn and Wm.B. Smith) built the tower of native limestone on the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula. The base of the tower is in diameter, with walls thick. It narrows to at the top, with thick walls. Before it was automated, fifteen

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

s (two of whom were women) in succession tended the beacon. The first keeper was Benajah Wolcott, a Revolutionary War veteran and one of the first settlers on the peninsula (although from 1819 to 1821, resided in the City of Sandusky.). After completion of the lighthouse and also an adjacent stone "keeper's house" in 1821, Wolcott and his family moved into that official "keeper's house". Each night, he lit the wicks of the 13 whale oil lamps that were the original light fixture (composed of multiple metal reflectors, each sixteen inches—406 mm—in diameter, which helped project the light across the lake). Other duties of the lighthouse-keeper included compiling a log of passing ships, noting the weather conditions, and organizing rescue efforts. After Wolcott's death in 1832, his wife, Rachel, took over these duties (and afterward, her final husband, Jeremiah VanBenschoter, took over those same duties). In 1858, the whale oil lamps were replaced by the light from a single kerosene lantern magnified by a

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

; this specialized, curved glass lens created a highly visible, fixed white light. In 1880, the original 1821 stone keeper's-house (adjacent to the lighthouse) was replaced with the present large wood-frame Keeper's House. "Keepers' House"/Wolcott House, which is approx. distant from the lighthouse.] A lifesaving station was built one-half mile (800 m) west of the lighthouse in 1876. Lucien Clemons, who with his two brothers saved two sailors from a shipwreck off the peninsula on May 1, 1875, was named the first commander. The turn of the century ushered in new technology as well as structural changes including the addition of another to the tower's height. A clock-like mechanism was installed to rotate the lantern, creating the appearance of a brilliant flash of light every 10 seconds. This system required that the lighthouse keeper crank the weights every three hours through the night to keep the lantern turning. An improved Fresnel lens with prism surfaces created an even more brilliant beacon. An electric light finally replaced the kerosene lantern in 1923, dramatically increasing the intensity of the signal. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the lighthouse became strategically important for national defense. The last civilian lighthouse keeper resigned, and the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

assumed responsibility for the beacon in 1946. The beacon was automated in 1958. With its original finish tattered by time and harsh weather, the exterior of the lighthouse tower was given a fresh coat of new stucco the same year. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has maintained the property surrounding the lighthouse since 1972 and accepted ownership of the Marblehead Lighthouse tower in May 1998. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to operate and maintain the lighthouse beacon. In 2012 an LED light was installed. Its green signal flashes every six seconds and is visible for . The distinctive green distinguishes the lighthouse signal from white lights coming from air beacons. Marblehead Lighthouse was one of five lighthouses chosen for the "Lighthouses of the Great Lakes" series postage stamp designed by Howard Koslow in 1995. There was one lighthouse chosen on each of the

. The five lighthouses are Split Rock Light on

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, St Joseph Light on

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

Spectacle Reef Light Spectacle Reef Light is a lighthouse east of the Straits of Mackinac and is located at the northern end of Lake Huron, Michigan. It was designed and built by Colonel Orlando Metcalfe Poe and Major Godfrey Weitzel, and was the most expensiv ...

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

,Postage stamp artwork, Spectacle Reef Lighthouse Stamp.
/ref> Marblehead Light (Ohio) on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

and

Thirty Mile Point Light Thirty Mile Point Light is a lighthouse on the south shore of Lake Ontario in Niagara County, New York. It is part of Golden Hill State Park, a New York state park. The lighthouse is open to the public. It gets its name because it is the point 30 ...

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

. In 2001-2002 the state renovated the tower and keeper's house at a cost of $500,000. In 2004 the Fresnel lens was returned to the light station from the Marblehead Coast Guard Station, where it was previously on display.

Marblehead Lighthouse State Park

The lighthouse is now part of the Marblehead Lighthouse State Park. The park features picnic tables and offers views of

Kelleys Island Kelleys Island is both a village in Erie County, Ohio, and the island which it fully occupies in Lake Erie. The British originally called it Sandusky Island. Later the United States took it over and officially designated it as Island Number 6 ...

and

South Bass Island South Bass Island is a small island in western Lake Erie, and a part of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. It is the southernmost of the three Bass Islands and located 3 miles (4.6 km) from the south shore of Lake Erie. It is the third la ...

. The Marblehead Lighthouse Historical Society operates the Marblehead Lighthouse Museum in the old keeper's house. Exhibits include the lighthouse, a

, ice harvesting, ice fishing, local maritime industry, ships, replica Lifesaving Station, local fossils and shipwrecks. Visitors can take tours of the lighthouse tower in the summer. The museum is open when tours are available. In May 2010, the band

Owl City Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his pa ...

featured this lighthouse in their music video for their hit single "

Vanilla Twilight "Vanilla Twilight" is a song by American electronica act Owl City. The song was released as the second single from his second studio album '' Ocean Eyes''. "Vanilla Twilight" attained chart placement prior to the release date, following the succe ...

". In 2016, a replica of the 1876 U.S. Lifesaving Station was built on the State Park property. The lifesaving station museum is located near the Lighthouse on the State Park Property and features a variety of exhibits and an authentically restored 27-foot Coast Guard rescue boat complete with launching railway.

Notes

External links

Marblehead Lighthouse State Park
(text use
with permission

Marblehead Lighthouse Historical Society and Museum1897 photograph, Marblehead light, U.S. Coast Guard.Aerial photos of Marblehead light at Marinas.com.Anderson, Kraig. Lighthouse Friends, Marblehead Lighthouse.Article about the museum, ''Lighthouse, museum still Marblehead's stars'' November 11, 2008.
Port Clinton News Herald.
Lighthouses.com, Marblehead Light (Ohio).Satellite view of Marblehead Light by

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

. * *
Wobser, David, Marblehead Light
at Boatnerd.com. {{authority control Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Buildings and structures in Ottawa County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Ottawa County, Ohio Lighthouse museums in Ohio Museums in Ottawa County, Ohio Protected areas established in 1972 Lighthouses completed in 1822 Limestone buildings in the United States 1822 establishments in Ohio

History

Marblehead Lighthouse State Park

Notes

Further reading

External links