Skip to main content

Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse - Niagara County, New York

Image
By

 

Built as a lighthouse to guide mariners around shoals on Lake Ontario, the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse is located at Golden Hill State Park, just at the northeastern corner of Niagara County in the Town of Barker. Taking its name from being 30 miles east of the mouth of the Niagara River, the Thirthy Mile Point Lighthouse was commissioned in 1873 and constructed in 1875 and 1876. At the time when the lighthouse was built, the closest lighthouse east of the Niagara River was the Oak Orchard Lighthouse, but it was not much use as a means to assist in getting ships to the Welland Canal. Before the lighthouse was built, there were a number of shipwrecks that had sunk near Thirty Mile Point, most notably a shipwreck in 1678 for a ship belonging to the French explorer La Salle, and the HMS Ontario, a British schooner which lost all of its passengers when it sunk during a Halloween storm in 1780. Certainly the construction of the lighthouse was beneficial to shipping interests in the area.

By the time the calendar turned to the year 1958, the lighthouse became automated. Around the same time, New York State began to purchase land around the lighthouse and in 1962, Golden Hill State Park was opened. Ownership of the lighthouse was transferred from the United States Coast Guard to New York State in 1984. You can take tour inside the lighthouse from the middle of May to the middle of October or even spend the night inside the lighthouse as well. Also, as part of a way to celebrate the maritime heritage of the Great Lakes, the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse was depicted on a postage stamp in 1995, as part of a series highlighting a lighthouse on the shores of each of the Great Lakes.

Heading to the lighthouse.


A view to the west of Lake Ontario on a very peaceful 4th of July afternoon.


A view of the beacon at the top of the lighthouse

Looking east from the lighthouse. Golden Hill State Park also has a lot of camping opportunities.
The lighthouse tower.
The front of the lighthouse.


Sources and Links:
Lighthouse Friends - Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
Friends of Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse - The Lighthouse
New York State Parks - Golden Hill State Park 

How to Get There:




Update Log:
February 3, 2018 - Posted original article to Unlocking New York.
September 8, 2021 - Transferred article from Unlocking New York to Gribblenation.
Labels:
Location: Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse, Barker, NY 14012, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Legend of the Ridge Route; a history of crossing the mountains between the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley from wagon trails to Interstates

By
Over the past two decades I've crossed the Interstate 5 corridor from Los Angeles north over the Sierra Pelona Mountains and Tehachapi Range to San Joaquin Valley what seems to be an immeasurable number of times.  While Interstate 5 from Castaic Junction to Grapevine via Tejon Pass today is known to most as "The Grapevine" it occupies a corridor which has been traversed by numerous historic highways.  The most notable of these highways is known as the "Ridge Route."  This article is dedicated to the Ridge Route and the various highways that preceded it.  This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Ridge Route corridor introdution The Ridge Route as originally envisioned was a segment of highway which was completed in 1915 between the northern Los Angeles city limit
1 comment
Read more

Establishing the numbering conventions of California's chargeable Interstates

By
The Federal Highway Aid Act of 1956 brought the Interstate Highway System into existence which would largely be constructed by Federal Highway Administration fund matching.  The Interstate Highway System was deliberately numbered to run opposite the established conventions of the US Route System.  While the Interstate Highway numbering conventions are now well established there was a period during the late 1950s where they were still being finalized.  This blog examines the history of the establishing of the chargeable Interstate Highway route numbers in California.  The above blog cover depicts the Interstate Highway route numbers requested by the Division of Highways in the Los Angeles area during November 1957.  The establishment of the numbering conventions of California's chargeable Interstates The Interstate Highway System was not created in a vacuum by way of the passage of the 1956 Federal Highway Aid Act.  The beginning of the Interstate Highway System can be found in the
1 comment
Read more

Yes, the color of your nearby fire hydrant matters...

By
...and here's why. You will find White, Red, Yellow and Violet colored fire hydrants pretty much everywhere.  But there's a reason for this - and it's because of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  This association has issued guidelines for color coding standards for fire hydrants.  These color codes from the body of the hydrant, top of the hydrant, and in some municipalities the outlet caps are designed to allow fire fighters to know what type of system, water flow rate (Gallons Per Minute or GPM), and level of water pressure.  This guideline is known as NFPA 291 and is intended to be used universally throughout the United States. The NFPA guidelines are specific to the body and the top cap of the hydrant.  If a hydrant is WHITE or YELLOW - it means that it is connected to a public/municipal water system.  If a hydrant is RED - the hydrant is connected to a private system, typically a well.  These are most common in rural or unincorporated areas
1 comment
Read more