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 lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

on the shore of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) 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 also has the shortest avera ...

in Erie,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. 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 The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(HABS) in 1936. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

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 of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

, 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; there are two ...

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 (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

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 ...

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 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 is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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 (also known as sinking sand) is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it crea ...

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 (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...

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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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 wood ...

lightkeeper'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 U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

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

tar paper Tar paper, roofing paper, felt paper, underlayment, or roofing tar paper is a heavy-duty paper used in construction. Tar paper is made by impregnating paper with tar, producing a waterproof material useful for roof construction. Tar paper is ...

. 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 Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

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 heritage. The commission cares for hist ...

provided $400,000 in grants for restoration work on the lighthouse. The lighthouse's 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.

References

Sources

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External links

Erie Land (Lake Erie) Light
( Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society) {{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