Day Trip to a Lighthouse

As a general rule, people seek adventure elsewhere - out of their own backyard. Trips out of state are frequently pursued during vacation weeks and on weekends.

But there are many places in the backyard that are worth visiting.

For many Ohioans, Marblehead Lighthouse State Park on historic Lake Erie is just a day trip away. The lighthouse itself, a 65-foot limestone cylinder, is climbable. Not all lighthouses can be a hands on experience. Marblehead Lighthouse is open to climbers in the summer months, usually between the hours of 1-4:45 pm.

In 1998, the lighthouse was taken over by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Its beacon, the oldest one operating on the Great Lakes, is still tended by the U.S. Coast Guard. Marblehead Lighthouse is actually a rescue story. Many of the 700 plus lighthouses in the United States have gone out of service. Some are in disrepair, some have crumbled under neglect. But some are being taken over by government and nonprofit organizations when the Coast Guard can no longer sustain their upkeep. Such is the case for Marblehead Lighthouse, as ODNR took the historic structure under its wing.

Now the Lake Erie light is the center of attention at Marblehead Lighthouse State Park on Marblehead Peninsula. Regular tours through it are given, and visitors may also soak up the local maritime history by touring the lightkeeper's house museum located next to the lighthouse. Fifteen lighthouse keepers have kept the Marblehead beacon operating throughout its beginning from 1822.

Marblehead Lighthouse's first Keeper
Benajah Wolcott first tended the lighthouse, climbing its stairwell each night to light the wicks of whale oil lamps originally in place. The light of the lamps was reflected by sixteen inch diameter metal plates that sent the beacon's signal far out across Lake Erie to warn ships of the rocky shoreline. A kerosene lantern replaced the whale oil lamps in 1858. Rotating the lantern created a flash of light every ten seconds. The keeper was required to crank the lantern weight system every three hours in order to keep the flashes coming.