Marblehead
Lighthouse in Marblehead, Ohio, is the oldest lighthouse in continuous
operation on the United States side of the Great Lakes. It has guided sailors
safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822, and is an active
aid to navigation.
In
1819 construction of a 50-foot (15 m) tower of native limestone at the entrance
to Sandusky Bay began. The base of the tower is 25 feet (7.6 m) in diameter,
with walls 5 feet (1.5 m) thick. It narrows to 12 feet (3.7 m) at the top with
2-foot (0.61 m) thick walls.
An
electric light finally replaced the kerosene lantern in 1923 dramatically
increasing the intensity of the signal. The beacon was automated in 1958. The
lighthouse is now part of the 9-acre (3.6 ha) Marblehead Lighthouse State Park.
This
lighthouse is featured in the 1995 USA stamp series on the “Lighthouses of the
Great Lakes”. This postcard came (28 May 2014) Swap-bot.
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