Marblehead Lighthouse

by Robert Gardner

Title

Marblehead Lighthouse

Artist

Robert Gardner

Medium

Photograph - Print

Description

The oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes, has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822.

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 5 feet thick. It narrows to 12 feet at the top with 2-foot thick walls.

Throughout its history, 15 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 13 whale oil lamps that were the original light fixture. Sixteen-inch-diameter metal reflectors helped project the light across the lake. 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 whale oil lamps were replaced in 1858 by a single, multi-wick lamp and a 4th order fixed Fresnel lens. The lamp and lens produced a bright constant white light focused over the water. Lard oil replaced whale oil as the illuminant in 1866, and kerosene replaced lard oil in 1880.

A lifesaving station was built one-half mile west of the lighthouse in 1876. Lucien Clemons, who with his two brothers saved two sailors from a shipwreck off the peninsula on May 1, 1875, was named the first commander. In 1880 the lighthouse keeper's family moved out of the 1821 limestone house on the lighthouse grounds to a newly-built two-story wooden frame house on the property. The former house was then demolished.
Between 1897 and 1903, the tower's height was increased 15 feet by the addition of a watchroom and new lantern room. A new, larger rotating Fresnel lens apparatus powered by a clockwork produced a bright flash of light every 10 seconds. Through the night, the keeper had to crank the weight to the top and adjust the timing every three hours to keep the lens rotating on schedule.
Modern conveniences came slowly to the timeless light tower. An electric light finally replaced the kerosene lantern in 1923, dramatically increasing the candlepower of the signal. During World War II, the lighthouse became strategically important for national defense. The last civilian lighthouse keeper resigned and the U.S. Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the beacon in 1946.

The beacon was automated in 1958, making the Coast Guard's job easier. With its original finish tattered by time and harsh weather, the exterior of the lighthouse tower was given a fresh coat of new stucco the same year.

Uploaded

February 25th, 2021

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