![]() A few years later in 1903, a larger 3-1/2 order Fresnel lens was installed along with a clockwork mechanism to rotate the lens to make the light appear to flash every 10 seconds. The modification was done during the summer of 1898, and the present wrought iron spiral stairs were added. As the architects studied the existing stone structure, they feared it would not support the addition, and it was decided to construct a brick tower inside the original stone structure. A plan was drawn to raise the lighthouse by fifteen feet. This forced shipping further from the shoreline and the visible range of the lighthouse needed to be increased. This lantern consumed much less fuel each night and further increased the visibility of the lighthouse.īy 1890's the ships on the Great Lakes were getting larger and required deeper water. ![]() By 1858 the light at Marblehead had been changed to a single pressurized kerosene lamp with a 4th order glass Fresnel lens to intensify the lamp's brightness out on the lake. A Keeper's House was constructed in 1822 adjacent to the lighthouse, but keeper Wolcott also had his own private residence about 3 miles across the peninsula, where he also farmed his 114 acres.Īs whale oil became scarcer and more expensive, a series of other fuels were employed by the Lighthouse Service, including lard oil and eventually kerosene. That oil had to be carried up a series of wooden ladders to the top each day from oil storage buildings on the ground. The lights did not flash or rotate, and the lamps had to be refueled every four hours, consuming about 80 pounds (11 gallons) of lamp oil per night. The original tower was 15 feet shorter than it is today, and the light consisted of a fixed array of 13 whale oil burning lanterns with 16” polished brass reflectors to direct the light out onto the lake. The name Marble Head (two words) didn't come into being until around 1840. The Marblehead area was then known as Rocky Point and the lighthouse was named the Sandusky Light. In June of 1822, local resident Benajah Wolcott was named the first keeper and the light was finally lit. The structure was built during the fall of 1821 by Sandusky stonemason William Kelly and three assistants using locally-quarried limestone. Congress recognized the need for lighthouses on the Great Lakes and authorized $5,000 for the construction of a lighthouse to mark the entrance to Sandusky Bay. Ohio became the 17th state in 1803, and Commodore Oliver Hazzard Perry defeated a British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, gaining possession of large portions of the Great Lakes for the United States. In order to foster trade, Congress, in its ninth official law passed the Lighthouse Act to construct lighthouses. One of the few taxes available to the government was tariffs on trade goods. After the Revolutionary War, the fledgling United States needed revenue. Shipping on the Great Lakes had been steadily increasing in volume since the discovery of the lakes by French trappers between 16. As the 200th birthday of the Marblehead Lighthouse approaches in 2022, a brief review of the history of the oldest Great Lakes lighthouse in continuous service is in order.
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