The Dunkirk Lighthouse, also known as the Point Gratiot Light, is an active

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 ...

located at

Point Gratiot A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

state. The lighthouse was established in 1826 and the current tower was first lit in 1875. The lighthouse was automated in 1960 and is still operational. The foundation is made out of dressed stone and the lighthouse is made out of rubblestone encased in brick. The tower is square-shaped with the upper two thirds in white and the lower third left natural and the lantern housing in red. The original lens is 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 ...

installed in 1857 in the original 1826 light and is still in operation. Its being still in use makes it a rarity. Only 70 such lenses are operational in the United States, 16 being 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 ...

of which two are in New York. At the entrance to the park property is the South Buffalo North Side Light, formerly located in Buffalo Harbor. It was added to 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 ...

as Point Gratiot Lighthouse Complex in 1979.

History

In the 1868 Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board, approximately seven years before the rebuilding of the lighthouse, it was noted that the lighthouse was falling into disrepair:

“The keeper’s dwelling leaks and the plastering is out of order. The roof leaks and the sills of the covered way which connects the dwelling with the tower are rotten. The main tower is cracked, and the fence enclosing a portion of the grounds is of indifferent quality. The beacon tower is decayed and leaks. The alterations and improvements in progress at Dunkirk, under the direction of the engineer department of the arm, afford an appropriate occasion for renovating and perfecting the aids to navigation at this station.”

Additionally, in 1874, the Annual Report of the Lighthouse board, again, noted the rapidly declining condition of the lighthouse:

“The old tower is in a very precarious condition; large sections of the outer shell may fall off at any moment, thereby endangering not only the whole tower with the apparatus, but also the dwelling and its tenants. It is urgently recommended to rebuild the tower at the earliest possible time. An appropriation of $15,000 is required.”

The third order

added to the original lighthouse in 1857 was reused in the new 1875 lighthouse. It is currently valued at about $1.5 million. Dunkirk ny lens

In 1960, along with the automation of the lighthouse, the assistant keeper's house was demolished. After the automation of the lighthouse, local residents banded together, bought the property and repaired the building, turning it into a lighthouse and veteran's museum run by volunteers. In 2022, the Dunkirk Planning Board approved the addition of a pavilion to the property for hosting weddings and other outdoor events.

Assistant Keeper and Pier-head Light

The Dunkirk Lighthouse also worked in collaboration with the Dunkirk Pier-head light, guiding ships into the Dunkirk harbor. The assistant lighthouse keeper manned the pier-head light. There have been five total towers that have served as the pier-head light. The first two were destroyed by ice from the lake. The third was removed in 1939, and replaced by a metal skeleton tower. The metal tower was then replaced by the current tower, and the skeleton tower now resides on the property of the Dunkirk Lighthouse. Dunkirk ny pierhead

Veteran's Museum

All four rooms of the second floor of the original keeper's house are part of the veteran's museum. There is one room devoted to each of the branches of the armed forces, with an additional building housing artifacts from the Coast Guard. Additionally, the hallway contains an exhibit on the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Almost all artifacts contained in the museum are donated by local residents or by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

, due to their association with the lighthouse.

Cultural

The Dunkirk Lighthouse is open seasonally from May through October. The hours are 10:00am to 2:00pm in the spring and fall, and 10:00am to 4:00pm in the summer. Guided tours include a climb to the top of the lighthouse, a tour of the keeper's house, Veteran museums and gift shop. The lighthouse is also open to private ghost investigations, and runs public ones in the fall through local paranormal investigators. The Archives Center at the

Smithsonian National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...

has a collection (#1055) of souvenir

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...

s of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online. These include postcards of Dunkirk (Point Gratiot) Lighthouse with links to customized nautical charts provided by

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploration ...

References

External links