In the A-Z thread, Margret has posted a picture of "
Rattlesnake Island OH ".
I'd not heard of this light before and from the picture, it might be a home-made lighthouse, not an 'official one'.(Comparing the size of the man to the lantern room, I don't think a person could FIT in there!) But it got me to Googling Rattlesnake Island and it has an intersting story.
According to Wickipedia:
Rattlesnake Island is a small island located on Lake Erie in Ohio.
Rattlesnake Island is a private island that was purchased in 1992 for $4.6 million. It is readily accessible only to the 50 members of the Rattlesnake Island Club. The 50 members will never increase, and the list is kept private even from other members. There are only about ten private and exclusive lots on the island. Sale of property on the island is controlled by the island club.
Most of the members just travel to the island to take advantage of the private facilities, including a bar, five-star restaurant, large pool and hot-tub, health club, tennis courts, bocci courts, miniature golf, and much more. Inside the main building, underneath the bar, is a raquetball court, basketball court, pool table, dart board, big-screen television, Pac-Man video game, a pinball machine, card tables, and even a suit of armor. There are two landing strips for airplanes, which come and go often. These grass landing strips double as a small golf course. The pilot's lounge doubles as a pro-shop, with access to score cards and golf balls. Near the runway is a small zoo containing exotic birds and other animals. Members and guests on the island travel from one place to another on electric golf carts. There are also seven hotel rooms which members can stay in for the night. Rattlesnake Island clothing can be purchased from a store located in the same building as the restaurant. In recent years, a second marina was added to the island.
The summer staff, mostly Eastern-European, is around 28, and there are separate dorms for the men and women working there. There is also a year-round caretaker and professional chef. The island's workers are trained to recognize each of the members and their families both by appearance and by the yachts they come in on. Any non-members will immediately be turned away by armed guards in one of the island's two boats before the intruders even have time to dock.
In order to join the Island Club, one of the current members must quit, and the potential member must receive recommendations from at least two of the island's current members. The cost to join is estimated to be between $100,000 and $300,000 initially, as well as a monthly maintenance fee.
The name Rattlesnake comes both from the actual rattlesnakes that used to inhabit the island, as well as from the overall shape of the island (two smaller islands near the tip look like a rattlesnake's rattle). The only wild animals on the island now are pheasants and seagulls.
Rattlesnake Island is the world's most exclusive playground of the wealthy, according to the Discovery Channel.
I've found several good aerial views of the small island and can't spot the pictured lighthouse on the island:
LARGE Aerial of Rattlesnake Island in winter in 1966 (Apparently before the private 5-star restaurant and club were built.) You can pretty well see everything on this island -- including the fact that a good chunk of the island was then taken up by two sod runways.
I did find a 2003 Aerial View which shows Margret's
lighthouse at the end of the small harbor pier . Looks like lots of changes on the island from 1968-2003.
Margret, being a philatelist, will appreciate that this small island had it's own postage stamps in the 1960-1980 era. There wasn't a post office on the small island, so the locals created their own to get the mail from Rattlesnake to Port Clinton OH.
Rattlenake Island Postage One other reference to these stamps valued them at over $5,000!
Nearby Green Island did have a lighthouse.
Original 1850\'s lighthouse which burned and was replaced by a
newer lighthouse .
There is an interesting account by a party of kayakers who explored Green Island and found
This old abandoned lighthouse. Scroll down and see this lighthouse now surrounded by woods.
There is also a lighthouse on
West Sister Island There's a link to the older lighthouse from this page.
The Lake Erie Islands have an interesting history. Put-in-Bay is probably the best known one. Anyone here explored these islands?