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If You Go ...
Old Fort Niagara Lighthouse, Fort Niagara State Park, Youngstown, N.Y., 716/745-7611. Open 11 a.m.-4 p.m., July to Labor Day.
Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse, Golden Hill State Park, Lower Lake Road, Barker, N.Y., 716/795-3885, 716/795-3117 (off season). Fri.-Sun. 2-4 p.m., July 1-Labor Day.
Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse, 70 Lighthouse St., Rochester, N.Y., 716/621-6179. Sat.-Sun. 1-5 p.m. (or by appointment), mid-May-mid-Oct.
Sodus Bay Lighthouse, 7066 Ontario St., Sodus Point, N.Y., 315/483-4936. Tues.-Sun., 10 a.m.-5 p.m., May-Oct.
Selkirk Lighthouse, R.D. 2, Lake Road, Pulaski, N.Y., 315/298-6688. By appointment.
Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, Cape Vincent, N.Y., 315/483-4936. Museum open daily July-Aug., weekends June & Sept. Youth hostel open May-Oct. |
There's something cheerful and comforting about lighthouses. Maybe it has to do with their role as welcome beacons to ships groping their way through waterways in dark and foggy weather. Or maybe it's their appealing and individual designs. Whatever it is, the fascination with lighthouses is universal, and northern New York State has its fair share.
Skirting the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and the Niagara and St. Lawrence rivers from Barcelona to Ogdensburg, northern New York's national scenic byway, the Seaway Trail, snakes by 19 lighthouses. Though many of them are now privately owned and off-limits to the public, between Old Fort Niagara and Cape Vincent there are a number that welcome visitors to scramble up the tower, drink up lighthouse lore in mini-museums, or even spend the night.
The Old Fort Niagara Lighthouse was built in 1782 to prevent ships from sailing too far west of the fort. The original structure has been replaced three times; the present lighthouse was completed in 1872. Today it is leased by the Fort Niagara Association and serves as a gift shop and museum.
The hand-carved limestone Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse was built in 1875 to warn ships of a hidden sand bar and potentially devastating shoals. It cost a lofty $90,000 to build, and in 1885, when the kerosene flame was replaced by an electric light, it became the strongest light on Lake Ontario.
The Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse in Rochester has the distinction of being the second-oldest Great Lakes lighthouse. Visitors can climb to the top of the 40-foot-high octagonal sandstone tower or check out the museum that's housed in the red brick light keeper's quarters.
Using limestone quarried in nearby Kingston, Ontario, the original Sodus Bay Lighthouse was replaced with a 45-foot-square tower and attached two-and-a-half-story dwelling. Visitors can climb up the circular staircase for a bird's eye view of Lake Ontario and Sodus Bay.
Though Selkirk Lighthouse is privately owned, it is one of the few lighthouses in the country that welcomes visitors for an overnight stay. Settling into this fully equipped four-bedroom house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, should fulfill any light keeper wannabe's fantasy.
Overlooking what can be a very rough part of Lake Ontario, today's Tibbetts Point Lighthouse replaced the original in 1854. This is a still-
functioning lighthouse with a radio beacon that guides ships on both Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. A small museum and a Victorian-era light keeper's quarters is leased by American Youth Hostels and is open to overnight visitors.
For more information on the Seaway Trail lighthouses, visit www.seathelights.com/ny/new_york.html.