A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
From the Photo series: A Closer Look: Explore Western New York’s architectural treasures series
The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse was built in 1875 and decommissioned in 1958. Employees of Golden Hill State Park say the lighthouse has a history of visitors reporting paranormal occurrences.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
The High Victorian Gothic- style Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse in Golden Hill State Park in Barker. Parks employee Barb Larson gives tours of the lighthouse and mentions its haunted reputation. People have experienced and documented strange sounds and events, including clocks, lights and televisions going on and off at random, things falling and noises, including footsteps and doors slamming in the middle of the night.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse was built in 1875 at the cost of $90,000. Through the centuries, there have been at least four shipwrecks on the treacherous shoals and shifting sandbar off Thirty Mile Point, so named because it is 30 miles east of the Niagara River
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
In 1873 Austin Hathaway, a farmer, sold two acres of land to the United States for $300 which is where the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse sits today.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse was built to aid ships navigating a shoal and an elusive sandbar that was approximately 30 miles to the east of the Niagara River. At least four ships sank in this area, the first belonging to French explorer LaSalle in 1678.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
The H.M.S Ontario sank during a Halloween blizzard in 1780. It carried 88 passengers and an army payroll estimated at more than $15,000 in gold and silver. Debris washed ashore the next day, showing no signs of survivors or of the gold.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
In 1817 a ship, The Mary, loaded with merchandise, sank in the shoal some 30 miles to the east of the Niagara River. In 1834 a local farmer looking for his cows near the mouth of Golden Hill Creek reported seeing men leave a ship, row up the creek, and unearth a chest from the creek bank.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
The iron stairway in the tower of the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
People walk the stairs as they tour the 70-foot tower of the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
The Third Order Fresnel lens was housed in the lantern room. The six-sided lens was so powerful that it magnified a kerosene flame to more than 600,000 candlepower and its beacon could be seen for 18 miles.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
A precision clockwork movement of counterweights turns the lens which originally cost $3,300. In later years the clockwork was electrified and a 500-watt bulb replaced the kerosene lamp.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
A view of Lake Ontario from the stairway in the tower of the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
Over its history, the lighthouse was staffed by many brave and hard-working keepers and their families. This is a copy photo of Robert Bannerman who was Keeper from 1888 to 1903.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
A copy photo of Keeper Glenn E. Seeley and his wife. Seeley was Keeper from 1903 to 1945.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
The original carriage barn was located to the east of the lighthouse in this 1898 photograph.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
The present barn on the property was built in 1904.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
The stairs leading to the lighthouse cottage living area. Space is rented year-round through the New York State Parks website or reserveamerica.com. The cottage has a living room with electric fireplace, bath with old-fashioned bathtub, three bedrooms and a "stunning" view of Lake Ontario.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
The kitchen sink in the upstairs living area of Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse in Golden Hill State Park.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
One of the three bedrooms in the upstairs living area that is rented by the week or by the night. In non-peak season, the cottage rents for $200 a night or $800 a week. In peak season, rental is $1,250 a week. Guests have reported hearing strange noises and recorded their impressions in the guest books at the cottage.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
Because of soil erosion in 1955, 1280 tons of stone were dumped on the lake bank in front of the lighthouse.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
Because of the shoreline erosion, the outhouse located on the bottom left of this photo from 1945, was moved away from the cliffs in the early 1950s.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
The original outhouse as it sits today. It is a classic two-holer with plaster walls.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
In 1958 the Coast Guard removed the lens and decommissioned the light. A steel tower with an automatic beacon replaced the light in the lantern room.
A Closer Look: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
In 1984, the United States turned over the lighthouse, the surrounding property, and associated buildings to the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The lighthouse was then soon entered into the National and New York State registry of Historic Places.
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