North Pierhead Light & Steam Fog Whistle

The Presque Isle, North Pierhead Lighthouse, also known as the, Erie Harbor North Pierhead Light, is one of the three lighthouses near Erie. The light, situated at the far eastern end of Presque Isle State Park, helps mariners as they traverse the narrow inlet between Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay.

Originally constructed as a wooden tower in 1818, that light was swept away by a schooner in 1855, it was powered by whale oil, and had to be constantly attended. When mariners were approaching the channel, many times they had difficulty spotting the pier light until they were right on top of it. To help solve this problem, in 1854, the light was equipped with a new sixth-order Fresnel lens, so that the beacon could be more easily seen. This apparatus had an illuminating arc of 270 degrees, which was a great improvement from the former light.

In an inspection report of 1837 it was noted that Erie’s Harbor was served by a lighthouse and a beacon. The lighthouse was the Erie Land Lighthouse, which had been erected on a bluff overlooking the harbor in 1818, and the beacon was a light at the entrance to the bay that had just been established. In fact, Congress had appropriated $674 on March 3, 1837, for “completing the beacon-light at the end of the pier which forms the entrance into the harbor of Erie.” The 1837 report indicated that the beacon was “so situated that it cannot be seen by vessels running down the lake until they are very close to it,” and thus recommended that vessels use the lighthouse to gain the upper entrance to the harbor and then follow the beacon light.

In 1854 the wooden beacon light received a catadioptric apparatus of the sixth order, illuminating an arc of 270°, which replaced the former apparatus that had be described as being very defective. The beacon light and its new sixth-order lens were destroyed the following year, when a vessel entering the harbor during a gale struck the tower. A lens lantern, suspended from a gallows frame, was displayed on the pier until a replacement tower could be built.

The current lighthouse commenced operation in 1857. The iron tower stood twenty-six-and-a-half feet tall, and when originally built, only the watchroom beneath the lantern room was enclosed. The lower portion of the tower was open showing its spiral staircase — by 1909, the lower portion of the tower had been sheathed with wood and covered with metal shingles; steel plates would later be placed on the lower portion. The tower was forged in France, and assembled on site in Erie, and was made from wrought iron with its tower rising to 34 feet in height, equipped with a new 4th Order Fresnel Lens. An itemized cost sheet from 1855 records shows that $1,731 was needed for the labor and materials to build up a new 28 by 33 foot pierhead at Erie from two feet below the water to seven feet above. $939 was the estimated cost for plates, bolts, braces, stairs and railing to construct a two-story, cast-iron tower, while $432 was the expected cost for the lantern. Painting was to run $215, freight $100, superintendence and labor for the tower and lantern, another $900. After adding 10% for contingencies and $502 for a sixth-order Fresnel lens, the total cost for a new pier head and beacon was an estimated $5,250.

In addition to the pierhead light, various range lights have served nearby to help mariners enter the harbor over the years. In 1854 the Lighthouse Board adopted range lights that had previously been privately maintained. An 1857 Light List shows that there were three range beacons in use at Erie: one on the west end of the pier, and two on the peninsula, northwest of the pier.

In 1872 new octagonal frame towers were erected on the east and west ends of the recently extended pier to serve as a range for entering the harbor. At this time the 1857 iron tower was on a crib behind the pier. A fog bell was established at the eastern end of the pier in 1880.

In 1882 the pier was expanded in both width and length, the tower was moved 190 feet to the end of the new pier, and the fog bell was placed in its base. When this was done the channel to the bay was deepened, and this caused sand to fill in near the end of the new pier which would cause problems throughout the years. The light's characteristic was changed from fixed white to fixed red at this time, the oil to be burned in the light was changed from whale oil to lard oil, which was more readily available, and cost less than half the price of more expensive whale oil. An elevated walk, with a length of 934 feet, was built between the iron tower and the keeper's dwelling in 1883. During the same year, the lenses in use at the North Pierhead Lighthouse, and at Crossover Island Lighthouse in New York, were swapped with the North Pierhead, receiving a fourth-order lens, and Crossover Island a sixth-order lens.

The north pier was extended 450 feet during 1891, forcing the relocation of the iron tower and its fog bell, and the addition of more elevated walk. In 1889 a fog signal building was built on the tip of the Presque Isle Peninsula, about a mile-and-a-half north of the pierhead station. A ten-inch steam whistle commenced operation on August 1, 1899, sounding a five-second blast every thirty seconds, when needed, until replaced in 1924 by a diaphone fog signal.

As the steam whistle was added to the responsibilities of the North Pierhead Station, a second assistant keeper was appointed to attend to the whistle, and in 1900, a new duplex was built for the head keeper and first assistant, while the second assistant was assigned to the old dwelling. Also in 1900, the fog bell was removed from the base of the iron tower and placed in a open framework structure at the end of pier, which had been extended 470 feet. The open framework structure had previously been used to exhibit a light on the pier at Dunkirk, New York.

An allotment of $38,500 was provided in 1923 to electrify the lights on the pierhead, to build a new compressed-air fog signal 500 feet east of the steam whistle, to erect a new steel tower for the western light on the pier, and to construct a new boathouse. Commercial electricity was supplied to the station via a submarine cable, but a generator was also installed in a new powerhouse at the station in case of a power failure.

The lights on the pier were electrified on July 18, 1924, and the new diaphone fog signal, which was housed in a steel tower and could be operated by remote control from the powerhouse, commenced operation a few weeks later on August 6.

A string of at least sixteen head keepers, starting with Samuel Foster and ending with Walter Korwek, are known to have served at the light. Keeper Robert Allen, who had the longest tenure as head keeper, received many accolades during his service. In 1913 he was awarded a lifesaving medal for rescuing two people, who were about to drown while swimming near the pier. Victor Osburg was teaching Ruth McLaughlin to swim, when the current swept the pair into deep water. Keeper Allen was on the pier lighting up the beacon and quickly tied a line to a mop handle, which he was able to toss out to Osburg. After reeling the man in, Keeper Allen removed some of his clothes and plunged into the water after Miss McLaughlin, who had sunk by this time. Keeper Allen swam some sixty yards and then dove down, retrieved the woman, and brought her to the pier. A lifesaving crew had arrived on the scene by this time, and, after expelling water from Mrs. McLaughlin, they performed artificial respiration for four minutes before she finally revived.

Keeper Allen was awarded the lighthouse efficiency pennant for having the best-kept station in the district in 1914 and 1915. In 1918 Allen helped extinguish a fire aboard the fishing tug Gannet, and the following year, he and his assistants were recognized for helping rescue the crew of the steamer Tempest, which foundered in the channel near Erie Harbor. Finally, in 1925, Keeper Allen helped extinguish a fire that raged on the peninsula for several days.

The next and last move of the lighthouse took place in 1940, at which time it was outfitted with its present heavy steel plates and became home to a tyfon air signal, which replaced the fog bell on the pier. A class C radio beacon was established at the station in 1941. Relocated 509 feet to the end of a newly extended pier, the new addition to the pier changed its general direction. The addition went in a more northeasterly direction. This stopped the sand problem, almost immediately, which was a problem in its previous location for many years. Once the lighthouse tower was moved the 509 feet, the lighthouse with its heavy steel plating was painted with distinctive large black-and-white stripes. The design of the lighthouse and its steel cover is unique, and it is the only surviving example of the square and pyramidal style lighthouse tower left in this country. The plating and additional bracing used in this reconstruction were made in France and shipped to Erie for assembly. At this point, in the minds of many, it finally became a true lighthouse. When all the changes were complete, an automated electric light was installed. Beginning in 1995 the light began to be powered by solar panels and the Coast Guard changed the light’s fixed red light to a flashing red light, at which time the 4th order Fresnel lens was sent to the Erie Maritime Museum.

Head Keepers:

Samuel Foster (1835 - 1837)
William Kane (1837 - 1841)
Benjamin Fleming (1841 - 1845)
Leonard Vaughan (1845 - 1850)
Ruben Field (1850)
John Hess (1850 - 1853)
William T. Downs (1853 - 1854)
Leonard Vaughan (1854 - 1861)
George W. Bone (1861 - 1863)
Richard P. Burke (1863 - 1869)
Frank Henry (1869 - 1884)
Charles D. Coyle (1885 - 1889)
Robert Hunter (1890 - 1901)
Thomas L. Wilkins (1901 - 1909)
Robert Allen (1909 - at least 1930)
Walter J. Korwek (at least 1940 - 1953)

The Original (wooden structure) North Pierhead Light.

Early view of the North Pierhead Light.

Old Zip-Line (aerial runway) to the North Pierhead Light.

Steam fog whistle that operated on the peninsula from 1899 to 1924.

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Presque Isle Lighthouse

Presque Isle Lighthouse is located on the north shore of Presque Isle State Park at Lighthouse Beach in Erie. The construction of the lighthouse began in September of 1872 and was completed in July of 1873. Initially the square brick tower was only 40 feet high so an additional 17 feet were added to the tower in 1896 to enhance the projection of the light from the Fresnel Lens out into the lake. The Presque Isle Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 4, 1983, as part of a group listing of lighthouses and light stations operated by the United States Coast Guard on the Great Lakes.

Erie Land Lighthouse was the first lighthouse at Erie, also the first American lighthouse on the Great Lakes. It was constructed on a mainland bluff in 1818, not far from the site of Fort Presque Isle. In 1870, plans were begun for a lighthouse on the north shore of the Presque Isle peninsula that would replace Erie Land Lighthouse on the mainland. This new light would be several miles nearer the lake, and being located directly on the peninsula, would better mark that navigational hazard. Congress appropriated funds for its construction on June 10, 1872, and proposals were solicited for the necessary building materials. The lighthouse was originally going to be built of limestone, but when this provided to be too costly, bricks were used instead.

Construction on the peninsula began in September 1872, and the light from atop the forty-foot tower attached to the keeper’s dwelling was first exhibited on July 12, 1873. The hazard of landing material at the site was evidenced by the loss of a scow carrying 6,000 bricks. The walls of the lighthouse tower were built with five courses of brick in order to withstand the fierce storms and buffeting winds that blow off the lake. Though square on the outside, the tower is circular inside and supports a spiral staircase, forged in Pittsburgh and barged to Erie. The brick keeper’s dwelling originally had an oil room, bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and summer kitchen on the main floor, and three bedrooms and a drying room on the second floor. Beneath the dwelling were located a cistern and a cellar. The cost for the lighthouse was $15,000.

Charles Waldo was the first keeper of Presque Isle Lighthouse, earning an annual salary of $520. On the day of the inaugural lighting, Keeper Waldo wrote, “This is a new station and a light will be exhibited for the first time tonight — there was one visitor.” Prior to sundown, Waldo would have lit the lantern inside the tower’s Fresnel lens and then throughout the night returned to check the oil level in the lamp. In 1882, the tower was equipped with a revolving fourth-order Fresnel lens that alternately produced a red and white flash every ten seconds. Before this, the tower exhibited a fixed white light punctuated each minute by a red flash. With the other lighthouses at Erie displaying fixed lights, the Presque Isle Lighthouse stood out from the others and was often referred to by the locals as the flash light.

The old Erie Land Lighthouse on the bluff was discontinued in 1880, much of its purpose having been assumed by Presque Isle Lighthouse. The lighthouse was partially dismantled and the property was sold off, but the light was re-established in 1885 after mariners protested the decision to extinguish it.

In 1876, Keeper Waldo’s wife, Mary, gave birth at the lighthouse to a baby girl, the first child to be born on Presque Isle. During their seven-year stay at the lighthouse, the Waldo family had an isolated existence, as the road to the peninsula was not completed until 1927. In fact, Keeper Waldo referred to the station as the loneliest place on earth. To reach civilization, the keepers and their families would have to walk along a 1.5-mile pathway, part of which was originally a boardwalk due to the marshy terrain it traversed, to reach the station’s boathouse on Misery Bay. A lengthy row across the bay and another walk were then required to reach the nearest school or store where provisions could be obtained. The pathway was finally paved in 1925, which led to its being called the sidewalk trail.

The Lighthouse Board noted in 1886 that the shoreline in front of the lighthouse had receded thirty feet during the previous two years. To curb this erosion, contractors built a 400-foot-long and 10-foot-wide jetty composed of stone-filled cribs during the summer of 1886. The work was successful as five years later it was noted that the beach had built up substantially on both sides of the jetty, which extended perpendicular to the shoreline.

In 1894, a tight board fence, 396 feet long and 5 feet high, was built on the east, north, and west sides of the dwelling to protect the station buildings and the keeper’s garden from the encroachment of sand. To increase the range of the light, the height of the tower was increased seventeen feet, four inches in 1896 to produce a focal plane of seventy-three feet. When kerosene was adopted as the fuel for the light in 1898, an oil house was constructed near the northeast corner of the station to provide detached storage for the volatile liquid. A year later, the extended tower was painted white to provide a more prominent day-mark for vessels on Lake Erie.

Andrew Shaw, Jr. became keeper of Presque Isle Lighthouse in 1901 and was recognized multiple times by the Lighthouse Service for saving life and property. In 1916, when the tug Henry E. Gillen stranded on the bar at the entrance to the harbor, Keeper Shaw summoned assistance and cared for articles that washed ashore. Two years later, a yacht was driven ashore near the station, and Keeper Shaw provided food, shelter, and clothing for its three passengers. Keeper Shaw prevented a fire near the station from spreading in 1917, and in 1925 both he and the keeper of Presque Isle Pierhead Lighthouse helped fight a fire that burned for several days on the peninsula.

In 1924, commercial electricity reached the lighthouse, and an oil-engine-driven generator was installed at the station in case of power failure. Presque Isle peninsula was set aside as a state park in 1921, and after the road to the peninsula was completed in 1927, Keeper Shaw abruptly retired, as too many visitors were attracted to the lighthouse. Frank Huntington took over the responsibilities of keeper and served until 1944, after which enlisted Coast Guard personnel tended the light. On January 8, 1928, Keeper Huntington, his wife, and son rescued two boys who had fallen through the ice near the station and were in danger of drowning. The Fresnel lens atop the tower was replaced by a modern beacon in 1962.

Additions were made to the front and back of the dwelling in 1989 and 1990, and in 1998, Presque Isle Lighthouse was officially transferred to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, who used the lighthouse as a residence for park personnel. In 2006, the lighthouse was opened for two days during Discover Presque Isle Weekend, and visitors waited in line for more than two hours to climb the seventy-eight steps to the top of the tower. More than 750 people paid $2 to make the climb, and there was still a lengthy line at closing time on the second day.

Keepers of the Erie Lights was formed in 2006 to gather information on Erie’s three lighthouses and to help with their restoration and interpretation. From 2006 through 2009, the committee focused on Presque Isle Lighthouse, and a Historic Structures Report on the lighthouse was published in June 2007. The report includes a history of the lighthouse and outlines a restoration plan that includes replacing the dwelling’s roof, repointing the masonry, and restoring the porch, oil house, and fence. The public helped the effort by purchasing a Pennsylvania specialty license plate featuring an image of Presque Isle Lighthouse.

In 2014, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources changed a rule that required the manager of Presque Isle Park to reside in the park. After the park manager vacated the lighthouse, and the property was leased to the non-profit Presque Isle Light Station Board, which opened the station to the public in 2015.

Former Head Keepers:

Charles F. Waldo (1873 – 1880)
Orrin J. McAllister (1880)
George E. Town (1880 – 1883)
Clark McCole (1883 – 1886)
Lewis Vannatta (1886 – 1891)
Louis Walrose (1891 – 1892)
Thomas L. Wilkins (1892 – 1901)
Andrew W. Shaw, Jr. (1901 – 1927)
Frank Huntington (1927 – 1944

Presque Isle Lighthouse before the tower was extended.

Early photo of the Presque Isle Lighthouse (late 1800s)

Presque Isle Lighthouse (year unknown)

Presque Isle Lighthouse (year unknown)

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Erie Land Lighthouse

The Erie Land Light, also known as the Old Presque Isle Light stands on the shore of Lake Erie. 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.

Recognizing the need to improve navigation on the Great Lakes and mark important harbors, Congress passed an act in 1810 authorizing the construction and appropriated $1,600 for the first two lighthouses on the Great Lakes; one to be located at the junction of Buffalo Creek and Lake Erie and the other on or near Presque Isle. A total of 2 to 4 acres 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. Though Congress provided money for construction of the lighthouse in 1810 and 1811, the work was delayed by the outbreak of the War of 1812. A new allocation of $17,000 was made on March 3, 1817, for the construction of two lighthouses on Lake Erie, and Presque Isle Lighthouse and Buffalo Lighthouse were completed and commenced operation in 1818. These lights are considered the first American lighthouses built on the Great Lakes.

The contract for the lighthouse called for a twenty-foot stone tower with a diameter of 9½ feet at its abase and 7½ feet at its top. Surmounting the tower was a nine-foot-tall iron lantern sheltering an array of ten lamps and reflectors. The lighthouse had a focal plane of ninety-three feet. Nearby, a one-story frame dwelling comprising three rooms was provided for the keeper, Captain John Bone, who assumed the position in 1818 and served until 1832.

By 1858, the original, square, 20-foot tower had begun to sink into the ground. Metal bands were placed around the tower to stabilize it, but by 1857 it was evident that the tower would have to be replaced. The second tower was a 56-foot-tall, cylindrical tower built from Milwaukee brick. The foundation of this tower was also was unable to cope and had to be replaced again by 1866. An investigation found that a layer of quicksand below the foundation of the lighthouse was the cause — and frost had also contributed to cracks in its walls. The lighthouse was dismantled in 1866. When work commenced on a third lighthouse, plenty of attention was given to providing a proper foundation. The selected site was farther removed from the bluff’s edge. And to ensure the third tower remain sturdy, unlike its predecessors, the foundation was dug 20 feet deep. Eight courses of oak timbers 12 by 12 inches and 20 feet long formed the base of the foundation. Atop the timber was poured 6 feet of Portland cement mixed with crushed limestone; stone 8 feet thick was laid on the cement. The third tower was built from Berea sandstone. The basal diameter was greater than that of the previous towers and helped to distribute the weight of the tower over a larger area. The year of completion, 1867, is inscribed in decorative stonework above the lighthouse door. The Fresnel lens that was installed in the new tower cost $7,000 and shipped from Paris, France. A two-story, saltbox lightkeeper's house was also built at the same time.

On March 3, 1871, Congress appropriated funds to raise the roof of the keeper’s dwelling to provide for a full second story. Other renovations made at the same time included renewing brickwork around the windows, restoring floors, replastering the dwelling, refurbishing the barn, and building a fence partway around the property.

After a new lighthouse was completed on the lake side of Presque Isle Peninsula in 1873, it took on the name of Presque Isle Lighthouse, and the old lighthouse on the bluff overlooking the harbor was renamed Erie Lighthouse, though locals referred to it as the Erie Land Lighthouse.

On the recommendation of the naval inspector for the lighthouse district, the Erie Land Light was deactivated in 1880; it was sold on March 1, 1881, along with the dwelling, for $1,800 to Myron Sanford, owner of the surrounding land. After much public outcry, the lighthouse was repurchased on July 7, 1884, for $7,000, and was reactivated the next year by an act of Congress. The property repurchased, a custodian was paid to watch the site, which was endangered by vandals, until the lighthouse could be reactivated. Most of the metalwork was still in storage in Buffalo, New York, but some pieces were missing or broken and had to be replaced. This unexpected work delayed the reactivation of the light until July 1, 1885, when the light from a new revolving third-order Fresnel was exhibited from the tower.

In 1886, the lighthouse was again decommissioned, though caretakers were still appointed and the beacon continued to operated until December 26, 1899, when it was finally extinguished. The lenses were removed in 1902 and were sent to the Marblehead Light in Ohio. After the lantern room was removed, the top of the tower was covered in tar paper. The lighthouse was acquired by the city of Erie in 1934 from the federal government, turning the property over to the city for public-park purposes. The city rents the 1858 keeper’s dwelling to caretakers, who look after the lighthouse property, now known as Lighthouse Park. 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 lined with brick. The lighthouse tower is 48 feet 10 inches with a diameter of 19 feet tapering to 14 feet. The interior diameter of the tower is 8 feet and contains a cast iron, spiral staircase with 69 steps. The balcony where the lantern room sits is 16 feet wide. The structure attached to the tower is 8 feet 3 inches wide, 16 feet 3 inches long, and 16 feet 5 inches tall; it is separated from the tower by 7-foot -tall 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 128 feet above mean lake level and a range of 17 nautical miles. When the current lighthouse was built a third-order Fresnel lens was installed; the lens were transferred to another lighthouse when it was deactivated. Currently, the tower is equipped with a modern marine navigational beacon.

The Erie Land Light was was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1936. On March 30, 1978, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A wooden replica of the lantern room was placed on the tower in 1990 and was relight on December 26, 1999, exactly one hundred years from when it was last extinguished, a ceremonial relighting was held at the lighthouse. In 2000, archaeologists found the foundation of the original lighthouse at a site 200 yards west of the current tower. 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 and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission provided $400,000 in grants for restoration work on the lighthouse. The lighthouses interior stairs and over 200 bricks were replaced, and a 6,300-pound 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 for the Erie Playhouse.

Erie Land Lighthouse (1933)

Erie Land Lighthouse (1933)

Erie Land Lighthouse (1933)

Erie Land Lighthouse (year unknown)

Erie Land Lighthouse (year unknown)

Lighthouse keeper surveying the harbor from atop the lighthouse.