EAST CHARITY SHOALS

Type:
Year Established:
1929
Existing:
Yes
East Charity Shoal NY
Download:
File Type:
jpg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2009
Photo Credit:
Thomas Tag
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society Archives
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
OFF CAPE VINCENT/LAKE ONTARIO
Latitude:
44° 2.2'
Longitude:
76° 28.8'
City / Town:
BROWNSVILLE
U.S. State:
New York
Location County:
JEFFERSON
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
No
Light List Data:
  1. EAST CHARITY SHOALS
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Year Tower Established:
1935 moved from storage originally from Vermilion OH
Tower Construction Material:
CAST IRON
Tower Foundation:
CONCRETE
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
52
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
16
Tower Shape:
OCTAGONAL
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
No

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
Yes
Original Optic Type:
FIFTH ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed:
1935
Private Aid:
No
Year Automated:
1939
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Comments:

Historical Information:

  • The iron tower at East Charity Shoal has served at two stations and on two different Great Lakes. It was first installed in 1877 at the end of a pier in Vermilion, Ohio. It marked the entrance to the Vermilion River from Lake Erie. The light served this location until 1929 when it was removed and put in storage. 
  • 1934: The East Charity Shoals lighthouse began construction.
  • 1935: The former Vermilion tower was installed on the crib. A fourth-order Fresnel lens was placed in the lantern room and a 1,300 candlepower light was installed at a focal plane of fifty-two feet above low water depth. Acetylene was used as the illuminant.
  • 1939: The East Charity Shoal Lighthouse was automated.
  • 2008: The lighthouse was declared surplus by the Coast Guard. Pursuant to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. No qualified organization was found, so an online auction for the light was initiated on May 5, 2009. The lighthouse eventually sold on August 27, 2009 to Cyrena Nolan.
Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jul 21, 2017