Lighthouses

Lighthouses. . , Immediately after the War of 18 12, there was a brisk and increased trade with Canada. In 1822, a lighthouse and two-room keeper's house were built on the bluff. In 1829, two piers were built to channel the river. A new wooden lighthouse was built at the end of the west pier in 1838, replaced by a new structure in 1854 and again by a cast iron beacon in 1880. , The lantern from the stone tower was moved to the west pier in 1881 and the lighthouse on the hill was decommissioned., In 1902, work commenced to replace the wooden pier and catwalk with concrete. Dredging of the mouth of the Genesee River started in 1908 and continues to this day., The original stone tower stood abandoned for the next hundred years. The original keeper's house had been replaced with a brick one in 1863. The government deemed the lighthouse as "excess property" and the structures were slated for demolition. Students from Charlotte High School saved the property with their 1965 letter-writing campaign. In 1982, the Coast Guard offered to lease the tower and keeper's house to the Charlotte community to operate as a museum., Ownership of the property was later transferred to the County of Monroe. Volunteers restored the property and students from Edison Tech built a replica lantern for the tower., Rochester's 1984 Sesquicentennial celebration included tours of the lighthouse grounds and Tall Ships at the port. The lighthouse museum opened on May 16, 1987. The restoration merited national recognition for the historical society. Not only was the second oldest tower on the Great Lakes saved, but it was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places., At the end of the east pier, a lighthouse in Summerville was erected in 1902 with a fixed red lantern. , In 1931, the west pier light was automated and mounted on a red metal tower. This tower remained until 1995. It was replaced by a red and white cylindrical tower.