A
lighthouse was first originally placed at
this pointas early back as the
1830s. Then in the 1936, a new lighthouse was built using the
"art-deco" style that was typical of that time period. This is the
tower pictured in the photo to the right,
but with a lantern
room. The lantern room was
later
The mouth of the Huron River was one of
the first Ohio ports to become settled. As early as 1749, a French
trading post operated from this port, although it was abandoned
during the war with the British. In 1805, a Canadian Frenchman
opened another trading post along the Huron River. By 1824, there
was a small boarding house for workers at the harbor and at least
five log cabins, including one housing the first shipbuilder of
Huron. Other shipbuilders followed, and the steamboat DELAWARE was
built in Huron in 1834. The first lighthouse was built a year
later, and its concrete foundation can still be seen today.
The modern white steel light marks the entrance to the Huron
Harbor. Its 72-foot-tall tower was built in 1936 on a pier that
extends from the shore. F.P. Dillon and W.G. Will built two similar
lighthouses the same year. Huron's "sister" lighthouse stands in
Conneaut. The light was formerly operated by remote control from a
brick station on shore, and it had a lantern at the top. It was
automated in 1972. Lake Erie commerce has played a central role in the
development of Huron. Important among Huron's maritime industries
were shipbuilding and commercial fishing. The city's shipbuilding
industry dates to the first decades of the nineteenth century.
Shipyards were located on the Huron River's west bank, slightly
north of this marker, and also upstream at Fries Landing. Among the
vessels built at Huron were the Great Western,
constructed in 1838 and
the first lake ship to have above-deck cabins, and the Golden Age,
which, at 286 feet, was the largest craft on the Great Lakes when
built in 1886. Huron shipbuilding declined as the nineteenth
century drew to a close. Commercial fishing emerged thereafter,
serving as Huron's economic cornerstone for over fifty years.
Huron's fishing enterprises included the Huron, Kishman, Scott, and
Zimmerman fish companies. By 1950, however, polluted lake waters
ravished the once-lucrative industry. Although shipbuilding and
commercial fishing are no longer a part of Huron's daily life, they
each had a profound effect upon the community's growth for nearly
two centuries. Text : Side B Huron's lighthouses have served as
beacons for Great Lakes shipping since the early nineteenth
century. The first of three Huron lighthouses was built in 1835.
Built of wood and ill-equipped to deal with strong Lake Erie winds,
it was destroyed by a fierce storm in May 1854. A second, more
secure lighthouse -- fully enclosed and made of iron -- was erected
in 1857. The current white, pyramidal lighthouse was constructed in
1939 when the pier was extended to a location three-quarters of a
mile offshore. It was one of the first Lake Erie lighthouses to
provide an electrically powered beacon to aid maritime navigation.
Its light can be seen over a twelve-mile
radius.
- From SR-2 in Huron take exit for SR-13 north (Mudbrook
Rd).
- Once on SR-13 drive 1.6 miles to the intersection with
SR-6.
- Take a left onto SR-6 then take your first right onto Williams
St.
- In 0.6 miles take a right onto Wall St.
- At the end of Wall St. there is parking on the left. Follow the
cement breakwater until you reach a point where there is a
crumbling cement structure in the path of the breakwater. To the
left of that there is a short dirt path that will get you around
that structure and onto the stone breakwater. From there you can
continue walking out to the light. THIS CACHE WILL BE MORE OF A
CHALLENGE IN THE WINTER TIME.
