Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Light
Encyclopedia
Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation
located off the coast of Oswego, New York
. It was built in 1934 to replace an earlier light constructed in 1880. It stands at the end of a 2000 feet (609.6 m) breakwater
at mouth of Oswego River
, extending .5 miles (.8 km) out onto Lake Ontario
. It is accessible by boat or from land over the abutting breakwater. It is not open to the public. It is owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
and operated by the United States Coast Guard
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
The original lighthouse on the location was constructed in 1889 when the second breakwater for the harbor was built. This light stood until 1934 when the present lighthouse was constructed. In 1936 an attached one story keeper's quarters was added.
On December 4, 1942, a boat used to transfer keepers of the light capsized during a change of keepers. Six coast guardsmen died in this incident. The station remained manned until 1968 when it was automated.
The original fourth order Fresnel lens
was removed to the H. Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego in 1995. In December 2000 the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
It is the only lighthouse of four in Oswego still standing. The light is currently solar powered.
that extends 17 feet (5.18 meters) above the mean surface of the lake. The caisson has three feet (0.91 meter) thick walls.
The superstructure has bolted steel plate and iron walls, roof, doors, window shutters. It has a one-story hipped roof
living quarters with a three-story tower at the north east corner of the caisson.
The caisson contains a large basement and is penetrated by double steel doors at the south where a tender may be landed to transfer personnel or supplies and a steel door at the west, leading to the breakwater. Recessed ladders are found at both elevations for access to the doorways and deck above.
The first floor level encloses the living quarters. The interior includes living room, bedroom, kitchen, hallway and bathroom areas. Finishes include plaster walls, vinyl-asbestos floor tiles and varnished wood trim throughout. A steel plate chimney rises through the roof at the southwest corner of the light. The fourth level has a lantern/watch deck and is surmounted by a conical roof with ball finial.
On June 1, 2006, the light station was declared surplus, and the application for transfer under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act
of 2000 is complete and it has been recommended for transfer to the City of Oswego.
On May 18, 2009, The General Services Administration conveyed the Oswego West Pierhead Light in New York to the city of Oswego. Acting Regional Administrator Glenn Rotondo signed the deed under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. Mayor Randolph Bateman received the deed on the city’s behalf. The conveyance, which includes the light and keeper's quarters, will become part of the city's waterfront access program. It will remain a working navigational aid maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
located off the coast of Oswego, New York
Oswego, New York
Oswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,142 at the 2010 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...
. It was built in 1934 to replace an earlier light constructed in 1880. It stands at the end of a 2000 feet (609.6 m) breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
at mouth of Oswego River
Oswego River (New York)
The Oswego River is a river in upstate New York in the United States. This river is the second-largest river flowing into Lake Ontario. James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea is set in the Oswego River valley...
, extending .5 miles (.8 km) out onto Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. It is accessible by boat or from land over the abutting breakwater. It is not open to the public. It is owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
and operated by the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
On December 4, 1942, a boat used to transfer keepers of the light capsized during a change of keepers. Six coast guardsmen died in this incident. The station remained manned until 1968 when it was automated.
The original fourth order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
was removed to the H. Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego in 1995. In December 2000 the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
It is the only lighthouse of four in Oswego still standing. The light is currently solar powered.
Construction
The tower is situated on a massive concrete/masonry caissonCaisson (engineering)
In geotechnical engineering, a caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships. These are constructed such that the water can be pumped out, keeping the working...
that extends 17 feet (5.18 meters) above the mean surface of the lake. The caisson has three feet (0.91 meter) thick walls.
The superstructure has bolted steel plate and iron walls, roof, doors, window shutters. It has a one-story hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
living quarters with a three-story tower at the north east corner of the caisson.
The caisson contains a large basement and is penetrated by double steel doors at the south where a tender may be landed to transfer personnel or supplies and a steel door at the west, leading to the breakwater. Recessed ladders are found at both elevations for access to the doorways and deck above.
The first floor level encloses the living quarters. The interior includes living room, bedroom, kitchen, hallway and bathroom areas. Finishes include plaster walls, vinyl-asbestos floor tiles and varnished wood trim throughout. A steel plate chimney rises through the roof at the southwest corner of the light. The fourth level has a lantern/watch deck and is surmounted by a conical roof with ball finial.
On June 1, 2006, the light station was declared surplus, and the application for transfer under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act
National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act
The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 is American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally-owned lighthouses into private hands...
of 2000 is complete and it has been recommended for transfer to the City of Oswego.
On May 18, 2009, The General Services Administration conveyed the Oswego West Pierhead Light in New York to the city of Oswego. Acting Regional Administrator Glenn Rotondo signed the deed under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. Mayor Randolph Bateman received the deed on the city’s behalf. The conveyance, which includes the light and keeper's quarters, will become part of the city's waterfront access program. It will remain a working navigational aid maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard.