Ashtabula Harbor Light

Infobox_Lighthouse


caption = Ashtabula Harbor Light before extension of breakwater (USCG)
location = Ashtabula Harbor, Lake Erie
coordinates = coord|41.9186|N|80.7959|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title
yearlit = 1905
automated = 1973
yeardeactivated =
foundation = Concrete crib
construction = Steel/Iron plate
shape = rectangular house with central cylindrical tower
height = convert|40|ft|m
elevation = convert|51|ft|m
lens = Fourth Fresnel lens
range = convert|9|mi|km
characteristic = 6 sec Yellow flashing

Ashtabula Harbor Light (also known as Ashtabula Light) is a lighthouse in Ashtabula, Ohio. It was listed in the National Register on August 8, 1983.

History

The first light marking Ashtabula's harbor was built in 1836, a short hexagonal wooden tower standing on a wooden crib just off the eastern pier.cite web
url=http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=287|title = Ashtabula Lighthouse|publisher=lighthousefriends.com
accessdate=2008-07-15] This used the oil lamps typical of the time and remained in service until replaced by a new tower on the west pier, a pyramidal tower with clapboard sides.cite web
url=http://www.ashtabulalighthouse.com/history.htm|title=History of the Ashtabula Lighthouse|publisher= Ashtabula Lighthouse Restoration and Preservation Society| accessdate=2008-07-15] cite web
url=http://www.nps.gov/history/Maritime/light/ashta.htm|title=Inventory of Historic Light Stations: Ohio Lighthouses: Ashtabula Harbor Light|publisher=National Park Service| accessdate=2008-07-15] This change was prompted by changes in the harbor configuration. The new light was equipped with a fourth-order Fresnel lens, exhibiting a red light. Keepers lived in a frame house in town. This tower was moved in 1882 but remained in service.

In 1905 the Ashtabula River mouth was widened and breakwater constructed, prompting construction of the third light, the structure that exists today. This building was originally placed 1750 feet SSE of its present location, but was moved and enlarged in 1915, placed on a concrete crib at the end of the north breakwater. The new house, built of steel and iron plate, afforded living quarters for the keepers. At the same time a new fourth-order lens was mounted in the tower. The old light was by this time left standing by itself, sixty feet from shore.

The new light's exposed position made it vulnerable to various assaults. In 1927 it was struck by a steamship, shifting it six inches off its base. The following year, however, a more famous incident occurred. An ice storm completely encased the light, trapping the keepers inside. After two days they managed to thaw the front door sufficiently to get it open, only to have to tunnel to through some five feet of ice in order to escape.cite web| url = http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHOH.asp | title = Historic Light Station Information & Photography: Ohio |publisher = United States Coast Guard| accessdate=2008-07-15]

The light was the last Great Lakes light to be manned, and was finally automated in 1973. The original keeper's house was deeded to the city in the same year, but returned to federal ownership in 1976 due to a lack of funds to complete a plan to convert the building to a museum. In 1982 the building again passed into private hands and was opened in 1984 as the Ashtabula Marine Museum. The lighthouse itself continued in service, even as the breakwater was extended past it. The Fresnel lens was replaced with a modern beacon and given to the museum in 1995.

In 2003 a society was formed to take possession of the light under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, and they applied for the light when it was offered in the following year. They assumed control of the light in 2007 and began a program of restoration with the intent of making the lighthouse available for public tours. [cite news
url=http://www.starbeacon.com/homepage/local_story_128075326
title=Not taken lightly: Preservation society takes over ownership of Ashtabula Lighthouse|first=Margie Trax|last=Page|work=Star Beacon|date=May 08, 2007|accessdate=2008-07-15] In May 2008 they received a grant to allow them to construct a floating dock, necessary since all access to the light is by water. [cite news
url=http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_136225956.html
title=Ashtabula Lighthouse gets grant for floating dock|first=Shelley|last=Terry|work=Star Beacon|date=May 15, 2008|accessdate=2008-07-15]

References

Infobox nrhp
name = Ashtabula Harbor Light


caption =
location = Ashtabula, Ohio
architect =
architecture =
added = 1983-08-04cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-06-30|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Federal
mpsub = U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouses and Light Stations on the Great Lakes TR
refnum = 83001943