Marblehead lighthouse

Saturday
Today we went to Nickel Plate Beach. We took a picnic and sat and read on the beach. By mid-afternoon the sky was looking quite threatening, so we decided to leave. There were a few raindrops at that point, but it didn't come to much. We then drove to Marblehead lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes. It has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822. In 1819, the fifteenth U. S. Congress recognized the need for navigational aides along the Great Lakes, and set aside $5,000 for construction of a light tower at the entrance to Sandusky Bay. Contractor William Kelly built the 50-foot tower of native limestone on the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula.  The base of the tower is 25 feet in diameter, with walls five feet thick. It narrows to twelve feet at the top with two-foot thick walls.  Through history, fifteen lighthouse keepers, two of whom were women, have tended the beacon . The first keeper was Benajah Wolcott, a Revolutionary War veteran and one of the first settlers on the peninsula. He and his family lived in a small stone home on the Sandusky Bay side of the peninsula. Each night, he lit the wicks of the thirteen whale oil lamps that were the original light fixture. Other duties of the lighthouse keeper included keeping a log of passing ships, noting the weather conditions, and organizing rescue efforts. Upon Wolcott's death in 1832, his wife, Rachel, took over these duties. The turn of the century ushered in new technology as well as structural changes including the addition of another 15 feet to the tower's height. The beacon was automated in 1958. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has maintained the property surrounding the lighthouse since 1972. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to operate and maintain the lighthouse beacon. Today's 300 mm lens projects a green signal that flashes every six seconds and is visible for eleven nautical miles. Before returning to the campsite we went to check out East Harbor State Park. We had planned to have a campfire, however the weather thought otherwise and it started to storm. We sat under the awning for a while and watched the lightening and the rain pouring down.

One year ago: Young wood duck