East Charity Shoal Light

East Charity Shoal Light
Location	Lake Ontario, approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) SW of entrance to Saint Lawrence River off Tibbetts Point Light
Coordinates	44°2′12″N 76°28′54″W / 44.03667°N 76.48167°W
Tower
Constructed	1877 (in Ohio) ; 1935 (in New York)
Foundation	Concrete
Construction	Cast iron
Automated	1939
Height	16 feet (4.9 m)
Shape	Frustum of an octagon
Markings	White with black lantern
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit	1877 (in Ohio) ; 1935 (in New York)
Focal height	52 feet (16 m)
Lens	Fourth-order Fresnel lens
Range	9 miles (14 km)
Characteristic	Flashing red 4s (Fl R 4s)
	East Charity Shoal Light
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Lake Ontario
Area	Less than one acre
Built	1935
Architectural style	Lighthouse
MPS	Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP reference No.	08000231
Added to NRHP	March 27, 2008

East Charity Shoal Light is an offshore lighthouse located near the Saint Lawrence River's entrance in northeastern Lake Ontario, due south of the city of Kingston, Ontario^[5]^[6]^[3]^[7] and approximately five miles (8 km) southwest of Wolfe Island.^[8] It is on the southeast rim of a 3,300-foot-diameter (1,000 m) submerged circular depression known as Charity Shoal Crater that may be the remnants of a meteorite impact.^[9]^[10]

The lighthouse is located in Jefferson County, New York,^[11] near the Canada–United States border.

The tower originally served Vermilion Light Station in Ohio from 1877 to 1929, and was installed at its current New York location in 1935.^[1] The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 2008.^[11] East Charity Shoal Light has been privately owned since 2009,^[12] however easements are in place to maintain the light's function as a navigational aid.^[11]

Description

East Charity Shoal Light sits upon a reinforced concrete pier, 50 feet (15 m) long on each side, that rises approximately 18 feet (5.5 m) above Lake Ontario. The pier is built on a wooden crib foundation with protective riprap. The tower includes a single-story concrete deckhouse that is 11 feet (3.4 m) tall and 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter. Above the deckhouse rises a three-story cast iron white tower, topped with a lantern and lantern gallery that is painted black. The light's interior includes a basement and five stories. The total height of the pier and tower is 56 feet (17 m).^[11] The automated beacon is powered by a solar array, sits at a focal height of 52 feet (16 m), and is visible for nine miles (14 km).^[1]^[3]

East Charity Shoal Light is not open to the public, but it is visible from Tibbetts Point Light on a clear day.

History

The tower was constructed from recast obsolescent cannon after the Battle of Fort Sumter in the American Civil War.^[13] It originally served Vermilion Light Station in Ohio from 1877 to 1929, but was removed after it was damaged in an ice storm. A replica of the tower was installed at Vermilion in 1991.^[1]

Prior to the installation of the East Charity Shoal Light, the shoal was the cause of at least one shipwreck, when the Rosedale grounded upon the rocks on December 5, 1897. The shoal was surveyed in 1900, and was found to be an area roughly 3,000 feet (910 m) long that was covered in water approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) deep. A buoy was installed on the eastern edge of the shoal, however groundings continued to occur, leading the United States Lighthouse Service to initiate the installation of a more permanent navigational aid.^[1]

Construction of the concrete pier for East Charity Shoal Light began in 1934, and the tower was installed in 1935. The tower was originally lit with a fourth-order Fresnel lens and a 1,300 candlepower light fueled by acetylene.^[1]

On July 23, 2008, the Secretary of the Interior identified East Charity Shoal Light as surplus under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.^[11] As such, the property was offered by the federal government for no cost to eligible agencies, institutions or organizations, with the agreement that the property would be maintained and made available for educational, recreational, or historic preservation purposes.^[14] No organization eligible under the NHLHPA was found to take ownership of the lighthouse.^[1]

In 2009, East Charity Shoal Light was put up for auction^[15] and was eventually purchased for $25,501 by Cyrena Nolan of Dallas, Texas on August 27, 2009.^[16] At the time of the purchase, Nolan intended to convert the lighthouse into a vacation home.^[12]

Although the property was transferred to private ownership, the light remains operational and the Aid to Navigation (ATON) remains the property of the United States Coast Guard. An easement is in place to allow for access to maintain or modify the navigational light. The easement also disallows construction of any structure that would interfere with visibility of the light.^[11]^[15]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: New York". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
^ "Inventory of Historic Light Stations, New York Lighthouses - East Charity Shoals Light". National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program. National Park Service. April 10, 2002. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2015. p. 19.
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "West and East Kingston, Galloo and Stony Basins bathymetry (map)". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
^ "East Charity Shoal (Lake Ontario) Light - ARLHS USA-970". ARLHS World List of Lights (WLOL). Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society. May 19, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ "Charity Shoal bathymetry (map)". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
^ "Charity Shoal". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ Holcombe, Troy L.; Warren, John S.; Reid, David F.; Virden, William T.; Divins, David L. (2001). "Small Rimmed Depression in Lake Ontario: An Impact Crater?" (PDF). Journal of Great Lakes Research. 27 (4): 510–517. Bibcode:2001JGLR...27..510H. doi:10.1016/s0380-1330(01)70664-8. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ O'Dale, Charles. "Possible Impact Craters". Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act Notice of Availability - East Charity Shoal Light (offshore), Jefferson County, Cape Vincent, New York 13618" (PDF). National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program. National Park Service. July 23, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Selk, Avi (September 11, 2009). "Dallas woman finds unique vacation home in New York lighthouse". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ "Vermilion Lighthouse, Ohio". Lighthouse Friends. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ "National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000". National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program. National Park Service. July 18, 2008. Archived from the original on May 8, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Clark, Sue (June 5, 2009). "First Lighthouse Up For Auction For 2009". Lighthouse News. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
^ "East Charity Shoal, NY". Lighthouse Friends. Retrieved September 26, 2015.

v t e Lighthouses of Lake Ontario
New York, U.S.	Braddock Point Light Charlotte–Genesee Light East Charity Shoal Light Fort Niagara Light Galloo Island Light Horse Island Light Oak Orchard Light Olcott Light Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Light Rochester Harbor Light Selkirk Light Sodus Outer Light Sodus Point Light Stony Point (Henderson) Light Thirty Mile Point Light Tibbetts Point Light
Ontario, Canada	Burlington Canal Main Light Burlington Canal Pier Light Cobourg East Pierhead Light False Duck Island Light Gibraltar Point Light Niagara River (Front & Rear Range) Light Oakville Light Point Petre Light Port Dalhousie (Front & Rear Range) Light Port Weller Light Presquile Point Light Prince Edward Point Light Queen's Wharf Light Salmon Point Light Toronto Harbour Light Mimico Cruising Club Lighthouses
Canada portal • Ontario portal

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in New York
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Albany Allegany Bronx Broome Cattaraugus Cayuga Chautauqua Chemung Chenango Clinton Columbia Cortland Delaware Dutchess Erie Essex Franklin Fulton Genesee Greene Hamilton Herkimer Jefferson Kings (Brooklyn) Lewis Livingston Madison Monroe Montgomery Nassau New York (Manhattan) Niagara Oneida Onondaga Ontario Orange Orleans Oswego Otsego Putnam Queens Rensselaer Richmond (Staten Island) Rockland Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Schuyler Seneca St. Lawrence Steuben Suffolk Sullivan Tioga Tompkins Ulster Warren Washington Wayne Westchester Northern Southern Wyoming Yates
Lists by city	Albany Buffalo New Rochelle New York City Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Manhattan Below 14th St. 14th–59th St. 59th–110th St. Above 110th St. Minor islands Niagara Falls Peekskill Poughkeepsie Rhinebeck Rochester Syracuse Yonkers
Other lists	Bridges and tunnels National Historic Landmarks New York City Outside New York City
Category List National Register of Historic Places Portal

v t e Lighthouses of New York
Main: List of lighthouses in the United States
Ambrose Tower Aunt Phebe Rock Barber's Point Barcelona Blackwell Island Bluff Point Braddock Point Buffalo Light Buffalo Harbor North and South entrance Lights Buffalo Harbor South Entrance Light Buffalo North breakwater East end Light Buffalo North Breakwater South End Light Cape Vincent Carleton Island Cedar Island Charlotte–Genesee Cold Spring Harbor Coney Island Coxsackie Crossover Island Crown Point Cumberland Head Dunkirk East Charity Shoal Eatons Neck Elm Tree Beacon Esopus Meadows Execution Rocks Fair Haven Fire Island Fort Niagara Fort Lafayette Fort Tompkins Fort Wadsworth Frenchman Island Galloo Island Gardiners Point Horse Island Horton Point Hudson-Athens Huntington Harbor Kings Point Latimer Reef Little Gull Island Little Red Montauk Point Moriches New Dorp North Brother Island North Dumpling Oak Orchard Old Field Point Old Orchard Shoal Ogdensburg Harbor Orient Long Beach Bar Orient Point Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Plattsburgh Beacon Plum Island Point Aux Roches Prince's Bay Race Rock Rock Island Romer Shoal Rondout Sands Point Saugerties Selkirk Shinnecock Sodus Outer Sodus Point South Brother Island Channel Range South Buffalo North Side Split Rock Point Staten Island Statue of Liberty Stepping Stones Stony Point (Henderson) Stony Point (Hudson) Strawberry Island Upper Cut Range Stuyvesant Sunken Meadows Sunken Rock Tarrytown Thirty Mile Point Three Sisters Island Throgs Neck Tibbetts Point Turkey Point Watervliet West Point West Bank Whitehall Narrows Whitestone Point

East Charity Shoal Light

Description

History

References

Further reading

€4.95