Original Oak Orchard Lighthouse Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

The piers that bracketed the river entrance were maintained until 1905, after which they gradually fell into disrepair. A powerful storm in 1914 broke through the western pier, and another tempest on December 23, 1916 swept away the lighthouse and what remained of the pier.

The Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum, a non-profit organization founded in 2004, was responsible for raising funds, that included a matching $85,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant, for building a replica of the lighthouse. Using information from the National Archives, Chatfield Engineers and Thomas Simbari of Simbari Design drew up plans for the replica. Construction bids for the project were opened in August 2009, and the lighthouse committee was shocked to find the lowest bid was nearly double what they had anticipated. After changes to the contract and rebidding, a bid of $163,984 was awarded to Nathaniel Development Corporation of Rochester, New York, who broke ground on the project in February of 2010.

A ceremony was held on Saturday June 26th to officially dedicate the new Oak Orchard Lighthouse. A memorial walkway, made up of bricks sold as part of the fundraising effort, still needs to be completed, and a museum building will eventually be opened on the site to interpret the maritime history of the area. A light in the lighthouse is active from April 1 to November 1 under a permit issued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

References

1. Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum.