Lighthouse restorations keep Cape Vincent tourism beacon shining
CAPE VINCENT, NY – Not unlike a fog horn across the lake, the drone of construction work echoing from the base of the Tibbetts Point Lighthouse draws visitors to inquire about access to the top.
“We’ll get knocks on the door and just have to turn people away,” said Cale S. Churchill, owner of Churchill & Son Contracting.
As part of the Tibbetts Point Lighthouse Historical Society’s efforts to maintain the grounds, the lighthouse tower is undergoing a full interior restoration, last completed in 2007 by the same contractor, Churchill & Son, which also restored the tower exterior last fall.
But all this allure of activity begs the question, “Can we go to the top?” To which the answer has always been and — hopefully — always will be “no.”
“The best way to appreciate the history of the lighthouse is to look up and see that light glowing at the top,” said Michael Cougler, president of the Tibbetts Point Lighthouse Historical Society.
This season, Tibbetts Point has already welcomed 4,165 visitors since opening Memorial Day weekend, and that’s just counting those who signed the catalog in the gift shop.
The lighthouse, built in 1827, serves as a key tourism spot for the village of Cape Vincent, and it remains fully operational for navigation across Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence River with its lightbulbs and Fresnel lens maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. The agency vacated the property and automated the light in 1981.
The Coast Guard’s Aids to Navigation Team, or ANT, made its annual trip from its Buffalo station to Tibbetts Point in early May to check on the lamp’s integrity. In between visits, the four-sided automatic lamp changer ensures the beacon is never dimmed.
“If the current lightbulbs are no longer available and it’s replaced with an LED, the Fresnel lens would be taken down and placed in the gift shop as a museum piece. It would be a shame,” Mr. Cougler said.
Apart from that light glowing at the top, the historical society and the town of Cape Vincent are responsible for funding all other maintenance of the tower, grounds and surrounding historical buildings.
Being on the National Register of Historic Places, it all must be maintained in a historically accurate way. The same materials and methods must be applied as they would have in the year the building was constructed, which makes maintenance very costly; specialized labor must be found and historically accurate materials must be used to make repairs.
But just as restoration work is meant to maintain history in the present day, protecting that lamp is just as key to keeping Tibbetts’ place in history — shining brightly where the lake and river meet.
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Prescott ship ambassador Joanne Crack to be honored Wednesday
PRESCOTT, ON – There will be a special dedication ceremony Aug 10th at 2:30 pm in honor of Joanne Crack at Prescott’s Port of Call.
At Prescott’s recent Community Awards ceremony, a special plaque was unveiled in memory of Joanne, whowas a local ambassador of the St. Lawrence Seaway and founder of the The Prescott Anchor Facebook page. Her efforts provided the public with an amazing window into the seaway’s shipping and boating traffic.
The plaque will be mounted at the base of an authentic ships anchor; to be installed at Prescott’s Port of Call, located at the bottom of Centre St. just west of RiverWalk Park.
Reserve now for MHSD’s Detroit River cruise on September 10
Join other members of the MHSD aboard the passenger vessel Diamond Queen, (captained by MHSD’s very own Mike Nicholls and with MHSD member Ken Borg as narrator) for a Detroit River cruise 1-4 p.m. Saturday, September 10. We will do our best to get up close to freighter traffic and, if conditions are favorable, go up the Rouge River (however, the Rouge is not guaranteed). Snacks and refreshments will be available on the boat.
Tickets are $28 ($30 at the dock if space is still available). Buy tickets online at BrownPaperTickets.com (put Marine Historical Society in the search box to find our event).
By mail, send a check, payable to the Marine Historical Society of Detroit, to MHSD Cruise, 1020 Iroquois St., Detroit, MI 48214. Late orders will not be mailed – they will be held for you at the dock. We are limiting the number to 100 passengers so there will be plenty of room to move about the boat.
To view the flyer, scroll down to the image gallery.
MHSD
