Horse Island Light

43°56′35″N 76°08′40″W / 43.9431°N 76.1444°W / 43.9431; -76.1444TowerConstructed1831 Constructionlimestone (foundation), brick (tower) Automated1957 Height21 m (69 ft) Shapesquare Markingswhite (tower), black (lantern) LightFirst lit1870 Deactivated1957 Lensfifth order Fresnel lens  Active light Constructed1957 Constructionsteel Focal height57 ft (17 m) Range5 mi (8.0 km) CharacteristicFl W 2.5s 

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]

History

Horse 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

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.
• 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

• 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