Horse Island Light, also known as Sackets Harbor Light, is located on Horse Island in Sackets Harbor, Jefferson County in New York on Lake Ontario. In July 2017 the 24-acre island was acquired for preservation by the Civil War Trust, aided by a grant from the National Park Service. This was the first grant in the United States made for a War of 1812 site under the NPS battlefield grants program.[1][2][3]
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| Location | Horse Island, Sackets Harbor, Jefferson County, US |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°56′35″N 76°08′40″W / 43.9431°N 76.1444°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1831  |
| Construction | limestone (foundation), brick (tower) |
| Automated | 1957 |
| Height | 21 m (69 ft) |
| Shape | square |
| Markings | white (tower), black (lantern) |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1870 |
| Deactivated | 1957 |
| Lens | fifth order Fresnel lens |
| Active light | |
| Constructed | 1957 |
| Construction | steel |
| Focal height | 57 ft (17 m) |
| Range | 5 mi (8.0 km) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 2.5s |
History
editHorse Island Light is listed on the National Park Service's Maritime Heritage Program as a "Lighthouse to Visit" and as one of New York's Historic Light Stations.[4]
A modern steel skeletal tower replaced the lighthouse as an Aid to Navigation in 1957,[5] and the lighthouse and property were sold. It is now in private hands and not open to the public. The keepers quarters were built in 1870, and consisted of a 1+1⁄2 story Queen Anne/Italianate brick house. There was also a barn and oil house on the property.
During the War of 1812, the British used Horse Island as a staging area before the Battle of Sackett's Harbor. In July 2017, the 24-acre Horse Island, located near the village, was acquired for preservation by the Civil War Trust, aided by a grant from the National Park Service. It was the site of a War of 1812 engagement. This was the first time in the US that a grant from the American Battlefield Land Grant program has been used to preserve a War of 1812 site.[2]
The lighthouse keeper at one time was Schuyler Shibley Simmons.[6]
References
edit- ^ Daniel E. Dempster; Todd R. Berge (2002). Lighthouses of the Great Lakes. Voyageur Press. p. 146. ISBN 9781610604376.
- ^ a b "Campaign 1776 Announces First Battlefield Preservation Victories in New York State", Civil War Trust
- ^ ARLHS World List of Lights
- ^ National Park Service's Maritime Heritage Program's Inventory of NY Historic Light Stations
- ^ Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
- ^ [ancestry.com]
Further reading
edit- 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.
- Price, Scott T. "U. S. Coast Guard Aids to Navigation: A Historical Bibliography". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
- Stewart, Alexander K. and Klepetko, Ross W. Battle of Sackett's Harbour (29MAY1813): a geological guide to the lake-shore processes and military tactics (NYS Geological Association, 2014)
- 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 1-55046-399-3
External links
edit- Lighthouse Friends site
- "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: New York". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
- National Park Service Historic Lighthouses
- NPS Horse Island
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