Marblehead Lighthouse State Park

About Marblehead Lighthouse State Park

Ohio's newest state park is the site of a lighthouse in the heart of the city of Marblehead, just a few miles from the Ohio River.

In 1819, the fifteenth US Congress recognized the need for seafarers in the Great Lakes and set aside $5,000 to build a lighthouse at the entrance to Sandusky Bay. Contractor William Kelly built a 50-foot tower made of local limestone near the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula. The sailors were led to the lighthouse by a series of lighthouses with their own names and locations.

The base of the tower had a diameter of 25 feet, with a wall five feet thick, and the twelve feet at the top narrowed to a two foot thick wall.

In the course of history, the lighthouse was estimated as a lighthouse by fifteen lighthouse keepers, including two women. The first operator was John C. H. Smith, a member of the family of the first lighthouse keeper, and his family lived on the lighthouse for over a hundred years until his death.

A 16-inch metallic reflector helps project light into the lake, and thirteen lamps, which are the original lamps lit at night, light up the night.

Other tasks of the lighthouse keepers were keeping records of passing ships, recording the weather conditions and organising rescue operations. After Wolcott's death in 1832, his wife Rachel took over the job, but not before her death.

In 1858 the lamp was replaced by a Fresnel lens, which was enlarged to a single kerosene lamp.

The special curve of the glass lens produced a fixed white light and in 1859 a light bulb with red light.

The rescue station was built and Lucien Clemons, who had saved two sailors from a shipwreck in May 1858 together with his two brothers, was appointed the first commander. In the 1880s, the lighthouse keeper's family moved into a new building at the foot of the tower, now Marblehead Lighthouse State Park, and in the 1890s into the second building.

The turn of the century brought new technologies and structural changes, including a 15-metre tower height increase. A clockwork was installed, which transformed the lanterns into a brilliant flash of light every 10 seconds. The system required the lighthouse keeper to lift weights to keep them running, but it worked and the clock was reinstalled.

In 1923 electric lamps replaced kerosene lanterns and dramatically increased the strength of the signal. Slowly modern conveniences came to this timeless lighthouse, but an improved Fresnel lens and prism surface created an even more brilliant beacon.

During World War II, the lighthouse became strategically important for national defense, and in 1946 the US Coast Guard took responsibility for it. The last civilian lighthouse keeper resigned and the beacon was automated to facilitate the work of the Coast Guard.

The US Coast Guard continued to operate and maintain the lighthouse, but harsh weather repeatedly destroyed the original surface. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources proudly acquired the Marblehead Lighthouse Tower in May 1998 and has been operating the land surrounding it since 1972. In the same year the outer lighthouse was repainted and in 2002 repainted.

Today's 300mm lens projects a green signal that flashes for six seconds and is visible for eleven nautical miles. In contrast to the white light emitted by the beacon, the signal of the lighthouse is marked by a distinctive green.

The area around Marblehead Lighthouse offers excellent picnics; concrete slabs support the tables, and a concrete slab supports the benches. The park's beloved beacon continues to shine brightly, protecting boaters, park visitors and local businesses from danger.

East Harbor State Park offers unlimited outdoor recreation with a wide variety of activities for all ages, ages and abilities. Boating, fishing, swimming and picnicking are popular, while nature lovers can enjoy hiking, cycling, canoeing, kayaking, snowshoeing and other outdoor activities.

At Lake Erie Islands State Park, visitors are greeted by a shimmering Great Lake and a beautiful backdrop of the Great Lakes. The four state parks offer unlimited outdoor recreation with a variety of activities for all ages, ages and abilities, as well as fishing, boating, kayaking, canoeing, swimming and picnicking. Lake Toledo State Park and Lake Huron State Park offer a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, biking, skiing, snowshoeing and fishing.

The Ottawa County Visitors Bureau is the official travel agency for the four national parks and Lake Erie Islands State Park. Both parks offer fishing, boating, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, skiing, snowshoeing and picnicking, as well as hiking, biking, skiing and canoeing.