The Erie Land Light, also known as the Old Presque Isle Light, is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

on the shore of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It is one of the three lighthouses in Erie, along with the Presque Isle Light and the North Pier Light. The lighthouse is situated on the bluffs overlooking the lake in

Lighthouse Park Lighthouse Park is a neighbourhood park located in a residential area in West Vancouver, Canada. It is a popular tourist attraction for visitors to Vancouver as it is a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site of Canada. It is ...

east of

downtown Erie Downtown Erie, is the central business, cultural and government center for the city of Erie, Pennsylvania. Erie’s Central Business District includes Gannon University, UPMC Hamot hospital, Erie Insurance, and city and county government offices ...

. The lighthouse was originally constructed in 1818 becoming one of the first to be built by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. The tower was replaced in 1851 for the first time; in 1858, due to its poor foundations and soil quality, it sank into the ground. The current structure was built in 1867 and remained in service until 1880. It was reactivated five years later before being permanently decommissioned in 1899. Both the lenses and lantern were eventually removed. The Erie Land Light was sold to the city of Erie in 1934 and was documented by the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS) in 1936. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1978.

Design

The Erie Land Light consists of a sandstone tower and a small, one-story building attached to the tower's southern side; the entire structure was constructed from Berea

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

lined with brick. The lighthouse tower is with a diameter of tapering to . The interior diameter of the tower is and contains a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

, spiral staircase with 69 steps. The balcony where the lantern room sits is wide. The structure attached to the tower is wide, long, and tall; it is separated from the tower by steel doors. The beacon itself, when it was in operation, was fueled by mineral oil and exhibited a fixed, white light. It had a

focal plane In Gaussian optics, the cardinal points consist of three pairs of points located on the optical axis of a rotationally symmetric, focal, optical system. These are the '' focal points'', the principal points, and the nodal points. For ''ideal'' ...

above mean lake level and a range of . When the current lighthouse was built a third-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

was installed; the lens were transferred to another lighthouse when it was deactivated. Currently, the tower is equipped with a modern marine navigational beacon.

History

In 1810,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

authorized the construction and appropriated $1,600 for the first two lighthouses on the

; one to be located at "the junction of Buffalo Creek and

" and the other "on or near ". A total of of land overlooking the entrance to the channel into

Presque Isle Bay Presque Isle Bay is a natural bay located off the coast of Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. Its embayment is about in length, about across at its widest point, and an average depth of about . The bay is at an elevation of 571 ft (174 m) ...

was ceded by Brigadier General John Kelso of the Pennsylvania militia on April 2, 1811 for the lighthouse. Both the construction of the Buffalo Main Light and the Erie Land Light were delayed until 1818. Erie land lighthouse pre 1914

By 1858, the original, square, tower had begun to sink into the ground. The second tower was a , cylindrical tower built from "

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

brick". The foundation of this tower was also unable to cope and had to be replaced again by 1866. An investigation found that a layer of

quicksand Quicksand is a colloid A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a ...

was below the foundation of the Erie Land Light. To ensure the third tower remain sturdy, unlike its predecessors, the foundation was dug deep. Eight courses of oak timbers and long formed the base of the foundation. Atop the timber was poured of

Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th c ...

mixed with crushed limestone; stone thick was laid on the concrete. The third tower was built from sandstone. The Fresnel lens that was installed in the new tower cost $7,000 and shipped from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. A two-story,

saltbox A saltbox house is a gable-roofed residential structure that is typically two stories in the front and one in the rear. It is a traditional New England style of home, originally timber framed, which takes its name from its resemblance to a woode ...

lightkeeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

's house was also built at the same time. Erie Land Light HABS 1

On the recommendation of the naval inspector for the lighthouse district, the Erie Land Light was deactivated in 1880; it was sold for $1,800. After much public outcry, the lighthouse was repurchased in 1884 for double the amount and was reactivated the next year by an

act of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

. In 1886, the lighthouse was again decommissioned, though caretakers were still appointed and the beacon continued to operate until December 26, 1899 when it was finally extinguished. The lenses were removed in 1902 and were sent to the Marblehead Light in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. After the lantern room was removed, the top of the tower was covered in

tar paper Tar paper is a heavy-duty paper used in construction. Tar paper is made by impregnating paper or fiberglass mat with tar, producing a waterproof material useful for roof construction. Tar paper is distinguished from roofing felt, which is impreg ...

. The lighthouse was acquired by the city of Erie in 1934.

Modern use and restoration

The Erie Land Light was listed on the

on March 30, 1978. A wooden replica of the lantern room was placed on the tower in 1990 and was relit on December 26, 1999. The replica lantern room was eventually blown off of the tower on May 5, 2003 during a windstorm. In 2004, The

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...

and the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...

provided $400,000 in grants for restoration work on the lighthouse. The lighthouses interior stairs and over 200 bricks were replaced, and a copper replica of the original lantern room was built. The lantern was hoisted on to the lighthouse on March 19, 2004. The restoration was completed on June 19, 2004. The Erie–Western Pennsylvania Port Authority proposed in 2005 to take ownership of the Land Light from the city to increase its tourism potential, and, in 2010, to assume responsibility for the maintenance of the grounds surrounding the lighthouse. The lighthouse is opened to the public annually in the summer as a

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

for the

Erie Playhouse Erie Playhouse is a historic theatre located in Erie, Pennsylvania. History The Erie Playhouse was established as the "Peoples Theatre" by 1882, and was incorporated as the Erie Civic Theatre Association in 1916. The troupe performed at the H ...

References

Sources

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External links

Erie Land (Lake Erie) Light
(

Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society Founded in 2000 by Jim Weidner, K2JXW, the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (ARLHS) is devoted to maritime communications, amateur radio, lighthouses, and lightships. Its members travel to lighthouses around the world where they operate amate ...

) {{authority control Buildings and structures in Erie, Pennsylvania Lighthouses completed in 1867 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Erie, Pennsylvania 1867 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Erie County, Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Erie County, Pennsylvania Lighthouses of the Great Lakes