Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation located off the coast of Oswego, New York. It was built in 1934 to replace an earlier light constructed in 1880. It stands at the end of a breakwater at mouth of Oswego River, extending out onto

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 ...

. It is accessible by boat or from land over the abutting breakwater. It is not open to the public. It is owned by the City of Oswego and operated by 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, mu ...

. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

History

The original lighthouse on the location was constructed in 1889 when the second breakwater for the harbor was built. This light stood until 1934 when the present lighthouse was constructed. In 1936 an attached one story keeper's quarters was added. On December 4, 1942, a boat used to transfer keepers of the light capsized during a change of keepers. Six coast guardsmen died in this incident. The station remained manned until 1968 when it was automated. The six were: The original fourth order

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 ...

was removed to the H. Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego in 1995. In December 2000 the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is the only lighthouse of four in Oswego still standing. The light is currently solar powered.

Construction

The tower is situated on a massive concrete/masonry caisson that extends above the mean surface of the lake. The caisson has thick walls. The superstructure has bolted steel plate and iron walls, roof, doors, window shutters. It has a one-story

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

living quarters with a three-story tower at the north east corner of the caisson. The caisson contains a large basement and is penetrated by double steel doors at the south where a tender may be landed to transfer personnel or supplies and a steel door at the west, leading to the breakwater. Recessed ladders are found at both elevations for access to the doorways and deck above. The first floor level encloses the living quarters. The interior includes living room, bedroom, kitchen, hallway and bathroom areas. Finishes include plaster walls, vinyl-asbestos floor tiles and varnished wood trim throughout. A steel plate chimney rises through the roof at the southwest corner of the light. The fourth level has a lantern/watch deck and is surmounted by a conical roof with ball finial. On June 1, 2006, the light station was declared surplus, and the application for transfer under the

National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (NHLPA; Public Law 106-355; 16 U.S.C. 470w-7) is American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally owned lighthouses into private hands. It was created as an extension o ...

of 2000 is complete and it has been recommended for transfer to the City of Oswego.Available properties through the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Program for 2006
/ref>NHLPA Notice of Availability and Fact Sheet
/ref> On May 18, 2009, The General Services Administration conveyed the Oswego West Pierhead Light in New York to the city of Oswego. Acting Regional Administrator Glenn Rotondo signed the deed under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. Mayor Randolph Bateman received the deed on the city's behalf. The conveyance, which includes the light and keeper's quarters, will become part of the city's waterfront access program. It will remain a working navigational aid maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Notes

References

*
National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 - General Services Administration Notice of Availability

Listing at lighthousedigest.com

H. Lee White Marine Museum
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1934 Lighthouses completed in 1880 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Transportation buildings and structures in Oswego County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Oswego County, New York Lighthouses of the Great Lakes 1880 establishments in New York (state)