BARCELONA (PORTLAND HARBOR)

Type:
Year Established:
1829
Existing:
Yes
Barcelona NY
Download:
File Type:
jpg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2000
Photo Credit:
Mike and Carol McKinney
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society Archives
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
PORTLAND HARBOR/LAKE ERIE
Latitude:
42° 20.27'
Longitude:
79° 35.42'
City / Town:
WESTFIELD
U.S. State:
New York
Location County:
CHAUTAUQUA
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Owner / Manager:
New York State Parks
Open to Public:
Yes
Light List Data:
  1. BARCELONA (PORTLAND HARBOR)
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Year Discontinued:
1859
Year Tower Established:
1829
Tower Construction Material:
FIELDSTONE
Tower Foundation:
NATURAL EMPLACED
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
40
Tower Shape:
CONICAL
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
Yes
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1829
Keeper's Quarters Style:
COTTAGE (MODIFIED 1890S)
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
FIELDSTONE

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
No
Current Optic:
GAS "STREET LAMP"
Original Optic Type:
11 LAMPS W/14-INCH REFLECTORS
Year Original Lens Installed:
1829
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Comments:

Historical Information:

  • 1828: Congress appropriated $5,000 for the construction of a lighthouse near Portland Harbor on Lake Erie. Portland Harbor was later renamed Barcelona Harbor.
  • 1829: The lighthouse was first lit in May. The tower was 40 feet tall and made from fieldstone. The Barcelona Lighthouse was located 18 miles west of Fredonia and for part of its life, it used a nearby ‘spring’ of Natural gas carried a distance of two miles in pipes to the tower to light its lamps.  The Lighthouse Service was obliged to keep standard Sperm-Whale oil lamps in the tower as a backup light source, because water frequently collected in the gas pipes, over which the gas would not pass.  While the pipes were removed and freed from water, the oil lamps had to be used. 
  • 1838: Unfortunately, the Natural gas gave out, and the gas lamps were removed.
  • 1857: The lighthouse was fitted with a “lens apparatus”. Some reports indicate it was a fourth order Fresnel.
  • 1859: A railroad was constructed nearby and the need for a harbor diminished. The lighthouse was decommissioned and sold into private ownership. 
  • 1972: The structure was made a National Historic Landmark in 1972.
  • Owned by New York State since 2006. The grounds are open year-round for visitation. During the summer season, the former keeper's house has a small museum and gift shop.

 

Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jul 21, 2017