Day Three, August 9th:
After a good night’s sleep and fortified by breakfast in the motel, I.O. and I gassed up and headed west again on Rt. 5 towards Dunkirk. As we arrived early (the lighthouse not opening until 10am) we drove around the town a bit (not much to see). We returned to the main drag where the marina is. There appeared to be something going on there as a large tent was pitched. We saw a scoreboard and some metal bleachers. We parked to see what was up and it turned out to be a professional walleyed fishing tournament! After investigating a bit and speaking with someone involved I learned that Dunkirk was one stop on this year’s tour. There were some 315 entrants both professional and amateur and it was a three day event. Scores were awarded based on the total weight of 5 fish with deductions made for dead fish. This was day 2 of the tournament, all the fishermen were out and there were no fish to see.
By this time it was nearly 10 so we left and drove the short distance to the Dunkirk
Lighthouse (1875).
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Dunkirk is an operational lighthouse. The buildings and grounds are beautifullyfurnished and maintained by the Dunkirk Historical Lighthouse & Veterans ParkMuseum volunteers. This group took control of the station over 15 years ago, it’s efforts spearheaded by Harold (Dick) Lawson. Initially Dick and his family were offered the opportunity to live in the keepers house. They declined and Dick instead turned the upstairs rooms into memorial displays honoring all branches of the military. The downstairs rooms are kept as they were during the height of the keeper’s time at the light. So many artifacts and memorabilia, relating to both lighthouses and the military, had been accumulated that another, separate building was constructed on the grounds.
(Dick was featured in the recently produced Seaway Trail Lighthouses video. His grandfather left Norway as a youngster with his family to live in England. At 13 he“went to sea” returning to England where he married. He later emigrated to the Buffalo, NY area and became a relief keeper at the Horseshoe Reef Lighthouse.)
Tours of the lighthouse, grounds and newer building are available for $5. Exploring the grounds only costs you a buck. You can climb the tower and go out on the lantern room deck but not into the lantern room. You can get a good view of the 3rd order lens from below. It was while looking at the lens that I discovered that one of my two other tour-mates had been with ATON, having worked at 4 different lights, one of which was St. Augustine. When I remarked that there appeared to be some prisms missing from the lens he told me that the light from Dunkirk was meant to shine only out to the lake and that the style of the lens was such that the landward section was a reflector type section.
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Our guide opened a small door in a corner of the circular tower-way revealing a triangular space that had been used to transport things up the tower. What this actually revealed was the outer wall of the square, 1875 tower while we were in the original 1827 tower. The original tower had been moved, the present keeper’s house erected and the tower enclosed by the squared tower we see today. It was felt that the old circular tower did not match the architecture of the new residence.
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Also on the grounds are three other lights. The first you see when entering is the South Bottle Light from Buffalo (1903):
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This is the mate to the North Bottle Light seen earlier in Buffalo and was relocated to Dunkirk for display.
Another light seen near the landward edge of the property is the last of the Dunkirk Pier Lights (1939). It was relocated to it’s current location in 1992 after being taken out of service:
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Dick pointed out the pier where it and two previous lights had shone before being replaced with a more modern beacon.
One more light was saved by Dick’s efforts and is located on the spot of the original Dunkirk light tower. This is the South Buffalo Range Light (1925):
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This light had worked in conjunction with the South Buffalo Southside Light we had seen Tuesday. When it was no longer required and probably headed for the scrap yards Dick hired a guy with a flatbed truck to go pick it up in Buffalo. On his return to Dunkirk with the light the fellow remarked to Dick that he sure didn’t realize how large a load he was meant to transport, that it barely fit on the truck!
Relaxing at a picnic table with Dick and our fellow tour-mates was enjoyable and informative. Dick told us that the Dunkirk station had at one time been considered for a boot camp. The plans had been made and he pointed out where every proposed building would have been located. This never occurred as Cape May was chosen over Dunkirk. He also pointed out the location of a previous assistant keeper’s house, now gone. When I got up and asked Dick to get in a picture with me in front of the lighthouse, he offered to take me up into the lantern room and show me the lens. As it was hot and I’d already been up the tower I declined.
It was with great difficulty that we left Dunkirk light and its “keeper”. This light and our visit will always hold special memories for me. Dick walked us all the way to the car and his parting words were, “Now you keep in touch, you have my card!”
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Returning to Rt. 5 we continued our journey westward to Barcelona. This lighthouse is easy to find being just past the marina. We parked there and I spotted the top of a wooden ship on the eastward edge of the marina. I walked down for a closer look and thought maybe our history books were mistaken, that Columbus had actually landed here! It was in pretty sad shape and sure looked old. I snapped a picture as it was neat to see and totally unexpected.
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I crossed the road for a picture of the lighthouse (1829) then returned to the marina side for some more traditional photos.
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Hard to tell, here but the light was on:
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Trying to get to the best vantage point by avoiding the many trees which block the view, I excused myself to the folks who were having lunch at a picnic table nearby. They didn’t have a problem with the fact that I was practically in their laps trying to get some shots. We struck up a conversation and one woman who was local to the area told me I
should go around to the front yard and take pictures of the front of the keeper’s house. She said the owners weren’t at home and no one else would mind if I did this. The owner owned or managed a paper mill in Fredonia and would be there. These folks have owned the lighthouse for the past 3-4 years, having purchased it from a woman who’s first name was Faith (I’ve forgotten the last name.) Seems that Faith and her husband
had owned the light for over 50 years. The picnic lady tried telling me something about this Faith’s husband, or was it brother? Something to do with this gentleman having been famous for something and that I could find out about him and it if we went to the local museum, or was it library? Being anxious to scoot around to the front of the lighthouse for my photos, I really wasn’t paying close enough attention to what she was telling me. After thanking her for the information, we pulled the car in just past the lighthouse and I jumped out for the pictures.
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One thing that impressed me was just how small the property really is. Well it just might go right down to the lake’s edge but the actual front lawn area is pretty small and the rear of the property is very close to the road. And the whole place is surrounded by trees or shrubbery. The best time for photos of this light would be when the trees are bare.
At this point it’s lunch time and we ventured a bit further down the road and turned off into a local eatery. I asked a couple town employees seated next to us if they knew anything about the old ship in the harbor. The “old ship” was a replica (1984) of the Sea Lion, an early 17th century English merchant vessel. It had been constructed and berthed at Chautauqua Lake, some 10 miles south of Barcelona. At some point it had been taken to Buffalo where it sank in January of ‘99 during a severe storm and remained underwater for 18 months. It had been raised the previous summer and recently brought to Barcelona where it is hoped to be restored. Hanging on the wall of the restaurant was a picture of her taken in better days along with several other vintage photos of the harbor and the lighthouse.
Back to good old Rt. 5 west we went and soon we were in Pa. As we entered Erie we found Rt. 5 Alternate which ran a bit closer to the lake. Following the directions from the Penrose book we found the (Erie) Land Lighthouse (1867):
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This is the third lighthouse built on the site the first two having sunk in quicksand. By the third try they got it right and this one looks as though it’s here to stay. (Technically the third was a relocation of the second light.) The first light dated to 1818 the same year as the original Buffalo Harbor Light. (No one knows for sure which was completed first.) The first two lights had been constructed 200’ west of the current light which appears to be the location of the 1867 two story keeper’s house.
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Unless this house was previously higher the quicksand must have finally stopped sucking things up!
Until the light on the nearby Presque Isle peninsula was constructed this light was called the Presque Isle light. It operated from 1867 to 1880 and again from 1885 to 1899. The light’s lantern room and lens were removed and transported to Ohio for use in the Marblehead light. The city of Erie took over ownership of the light in 1934. A small park was created and in 1990 a reconstructed lantern room was placed atop this proud sentinel. The light was rededicated and a lottery system was instituted. The lottery winner would have the opportunity to rent the keeper’s house and become the unofficial keeper of the Land Light. Sadly the current keepers were not at home as we’d hope to meet up with them. (The couple we’d toured Dunkirk with were doing the same lights but from west to east. They had found the Scutella’s at home and were able to benefit from having had the opportunity to chat with them.)
The light, the house and the grounds were well maintained and the rather lack luster color of the lighthouse had been brightened by the placement of pots of flowers at it’s entrance.
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We left the area, returned to Rt. 5 A and continued west all across Erie until we finally intersected with Peninsula Road. We turned right (north) and drove onto the peninsula. (If you hold out your left arm and bend it at the elbow to form a right angle and again bend your hand at the wrist to form another right angle you have roughly the shape of the peninsula in front of you. The enclosed area is Presque Isle Bay.) The whole peninsula is a State Park and unlike NY, Pa lets you in for free. What with the oppressively hot day many folks were taking advantage of this 3200 acre refuge. The road which loops around the peninsula is 13 miles in length. I counted 10 official beaches along the way but observed folks in the water in other areas. After traveling eastward on the road for about 8 miles we saw the sign for the Coast Guard station and turned right. Following this road for a bit we spotted some “floating cottages” in a smaller bay to our right.
They were “way cool”! Shortly we reached the station and turned left (east) again to the parking area for the pier. I walked to the end of the not too long pier which marks the entrance of the channel into Presque Isle Bay. Besides lighthouse lovers the pier attracts fisherman and I had a brief conversation with a young lad who seemed very intent on catching the “big one”!
Near the end of the pier is the Presque Isle North Pier Light (1867).
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Sources are confusing as to how many previous lights marked this channel. I believe there was some sort of beacon here dating to 1828 or earlier. A previous cast iron tower was located on shore but was hit by a ship. This 30’ tower has been moved at least once, possibly twice and sits close to the end of the pier.
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(Maybe the pier got longer?) This light had been visible from the park near the Land Light but I couldn’t spot the Land Light from the pier, probably it was obstructed by trees.
Next we returned to the entrance to the Coast Guard station and drove in. I had read that the house here had been the keepers house for the pier light. Well there were two houses, a single and a double!
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After speaking to the woman who lives in the “single” I got the story, well sort of. She told me that the single home was earlier by around 20 years to the duplex. There had been a Life Saving Station here on the bay. The main man and his family lived in the single and subordinate but equal to each other assistants lived in the double home. The front entrance to the single house had faced the bay. Now the Coast Guard has cut into the bay to form a mini-bay where they have their modern facilities. The front entrance to the house is no longer used. She took me around to the front where a wooden fence blocked the view. So I thanked her and took my photo from the landward side. Given the time frame mentioned I believe the single house probably housed the lightkeeper and access to the end of the peninsula had probably been by boat.
We made our way back to the loop road and proceeded a bit further along to the lake facing side of the peninsula. Shortly we arrived at the Presque Isle Lighthouse (1872). Now you can walk through to the beach on a sandy trail for the standard “photo op” view:
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Or you can try from near a fence on the road side. Here the trees block the view and standing space is limited if you don’t want to fall into a gully between the fence and the road. I’d always wondered just how this light was situated. In this second photo you can see that the actual tower is connected to the house on the front corner away from the lake.
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Sources also differ on the height of this tower, usually from 57’ to 68’, but do agree that it was extended by 17’ in 1896. A recent article in a publication I picked up called “The Showcase” by a woman named Loretta Brandon stated it’s height at 77’. She actually lived at the Presque Isle light as a child when her father was keeper there.
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While the Commonwealth of Pa has only owned this lighthouse since 1998 they have constructed an interpretive exhibit near the station and hope to one day make it available to the public. The lenses for the Presque Isle lights are housed in the Erie Maritime Museum back in town on the waterfront but it’s too late for that now.
Well, that was the last lighthouse for this trip. We left the peninsula and eventually left Erie and headed back east, this time on Rt. 17/86 and returned to NY. I had never been to this area of NY before and there didn’t appear to be much to see. We exited the highway before too long and found a room in a brand new Holiday Inn Express. Not seeing anywhere around to have dinner I.O. inquired at the desk. He was told to go south a bit to the Curly Maple. It was in an old house and we sat outdoors on the porch. When the waitress asked what we’d like to drink and I.O. inquired as to their selection of beer, he was told we were in Findley Lake and it was a dry town. Now, besides not being able to smoke he couldn’t even get a drink! Somehow we managed to make it through dinner, which was ok, not great. We then took a ride into the “downtown” area and around the lake stopping back in town for an ice cream at what appeared to be the only other place to eat. After a while back at the motel I happened to look out the window and spotted a group of people on the sidewalk on a blanket. They were on their knees in a circle so I waited a bit to see what the deal was. After a bit they all faced west and moved up and down with their arms extended. When they’d finished they rolled up the rug, piled back in their van and took off. Hmmm, very interesting!
The next day we hit the road after yet another free motel breakfast. Just a bit further on we got off the highway and headed north a bit as I had visions of stopping at the world famous Chautauqua Institution.
http://www.chautauqua-inst.org/ This place had begun way back in 1874 as one of those religious campgrounds. Presidents from Grant to Clinton have attended some of the programs offered during the summer season. What began as a religious affair has expanded to include economics, the arts, you name it. I had always wanted to see the 1881 Athenaeum Hotel and early victorian lakeside cottages located there. Well when we arrived the whole place was
surrounded by a big black fence. We stopped for visitor information and found that we could tour the grounds for $11. I knew that I.O would never go for this so we left.
After consulting our map I found that there was one more “can’t miss” stop to make in Cuba, NY. Now we know that Wisconsin is the dairy state but NY does pretty well too so we left the highway again and headed for the Cuba Cheese Shoppe.
http://cubacheese.com/history.htm This little town produces some of the best cheddar cheese ever so I stocked up after tasting all the free samples.
We stayed on Rt. 86 east until we reached Bath, NY (were there baths here?) and then headed northeast along the Finger Lakes and got home safe and sound. I.O. later described this trip as a culinary disaster. And he didn't especially care for the FLW houses either.
Observations:
While summer is a nice time to travel, it is not always the best time for taking photos of lighthouses. Most of those we encountered this time had so many trees around them. Early spring or late fall would be better.
Think small. While it’s easy to want to see as many lighthouses as you can on a given trip I found that I often got caught up trying to find the best spots to photograph them from. The best lenses are in your eyes and the memory in your brain has no limits. Take time to reach out and touch the buildings and the people you encounter on your lighthousing trips. While our photographs serve as tangible proof of these visits, memories recalled are worth so much more.
Happy Lighthousing!
[This message has been edited by engbrady (edited 08-21-2001).]
