ASHTABULA HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE

NORTH END OF ASHTABULA BREAKWATER IN ASHTABULA HARBOR ENTRANCE/LAKE ERIE
Station Established: 1835; relocated 1916
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1905
Operational? YES
Automated? YES 1973
Deactivated: n/a
Foundation Materials: CONCRETE CRIB (1916)
Construction Materials: STEEL W/IRON PLATE
Tower Shape: CYLINDRICAL TOWER ON SQUARE HOUSE
Height:    40-feet; height of focal plane = 51 feet
Markings/Pattern: WHITE W/BLACK TRIM
Relationship to Other Structure: INTEGRAL
Original Lens: FOURTH ORDER, FRESNEL 1916
Foghorn: Diaphone

Historical Information:

• 1835: The tower is 40’ above Lake Erie and is constructed of steel and iron plate. 1928: During a winter Storm in 1928 two keepers were imprisoned by a fierce ice storm that encapsulated the lighthouse. They had to thaw the door and tunnel through ice 5’ thick in places.
• The Great Lakes marine and U.S. Coast Guard Memorial Museum is across the parking lot from the best view of the lighthouse. The Keepers house is now a museum and full of pictorial history of Ashtabula. An extensive collection of ship models and the pilothouse from the steamer Thomas Walters are on display.