Fort Niagara Light
Encyclopedia
Fort Niagara Light was a lighthouse
on the Niagara River
on the south shore of Lake Ontario
in New York
state.
The foundation was natural/emplaced and the lighthouse was constructed out of limestone with a brick lining. The tower is octagonal in shape with a black lantern. The original lens was a fourth order Fresnel lens
installed in 1859
National Register Status: LISTED; Reference #84002809
Name of Listing: FORT NIAGARA LIGHT (U.S. COAST GUARD/GREAT LAKES TR)
Part of Old Fort Niagara National Historic Landmark; First two towers constructed on the fort; Third (current) tower constructed south of fort; Tower replaced by modern beacon in order to save trees obstructing lantern in 1993.
s of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online. These include postcards of Fort Niagara Light with links to customized nautical charts provided by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
on the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
on the south shore of 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...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state.
History
The lighthouse was established in 1782 atop the "French Castle", a structure still located within Old Fort Niagara. The current tower was first lit in 1872, having been removed from the French Castle to allow for more room for officer's quarters. The light was deactivated in 1996, having been replaced by a light beacon at the US Coast Guard Station Niagara.The foundation was natural/emplaced and the lighthouse was constructed out of limestone with a brick lining. The tower is octagonal in shape with a black lantern. The original lens was a fourth order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
installed in 1859
National Register Status: LISTED; Reference #84002809
Name of Listing: FORT NIAGARA LIGHT (U.S. COAST GUARD/GREAT LAKES TR)
Part of Old Fort Niagara National Historic Landmark; First two towers constructed on the fort; Third (current) tower constructed south of fort; Tower replaced by modern beacon in order to save trees obstructing lantern in 1993.
Cultural
The Archives Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History has a collection (#1055) of souvenir postcardPostcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online. These include postcards of Fort Niagara Light with links to customized nautical charts provided by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
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