East Charity Shoal Light
Encyclopedia
East Charity Shoals Light is a lighthouse located in Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
near the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
. The tower originally served Vermilion Light Station in Ohio (1877–1929) but was removed after it was damaged in an ice storm. East Charity Shoals Light is not open to the public, but it is visible from Tibbetts Point Light
Tibbetts Point Light
The Tibbetts Point Lighthouse is located in Cape Vincent , New York. The land upon which the lighthouse stands is a part of a grant of land to Captain John Tibbetts of Troy, New York.The lighthouse is a circular tower that stands above the water...
on a clear day. The tower was formed from recast obsolescent cannon after the Battle of Fort Sumter
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On...
in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
On July 23, 2008, the Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
identified East Charity Shoal Light as surplus under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act
National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act
The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 is American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally-owned lighthouses into private hands...
of 2000. The property was described as "Established in 1935. 56 feet tall; property includes a rectangular, reinforced concrete pier built on a wooden crib foundation with protective riprap; and a single-story octagonal concrete deckhouse with a three-story cast iron white tower topped with a lantern and lantern gallery (painted black). Deckhouse stands 11.5 feet tall and is approx. 20 feet in diameter. The concrete pier measures 50 feet long on each side and rises to approx. 18 feet above level of Lake Ontario. Interior of light includes a basement and five stories."
Property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and must be maintained according to the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. Historic covenants will be incorporated into the deed.
The easement states "1) An easement for the purpose of preserving an Arc of Visibility within the radial arc of 360 degrees with the stipulation that nothing will be constructed maintained or permitted of a height sufficient to interfere with or obstruct the Arc of Visibility of said light.
2) An easement for an unrestricted right of access for ingress and egress, to and across the Property to maintain, operate, service, repair, and replace equipment as necessary to support its ATON mission; and
3) The unrestricted right to relocate or add any aids to navigation or communications towers and equipment (along with necessary right of egress/ingress), or make any changes on any portion of the property as may be necessary for navigation/public safety purposes."
Further reading
- Oleszewski, Wes. Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
- U.S. Coast Guard. Historically Famous Lighthouses (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1957).
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia. Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993