Originally christened “Grandon” on land deeded by the Connecticut Land Company, Fairport can boast an illustrious group of founding fathers. Among them were the justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio and future governor of Ohio, the founders of nearby Akron and New Market, and early industrialists. Eventually, the city’s reputation as the finest port on Lake Erie earned it the name of “Fairport,” and both passenger vessels bearing westward-bound pioneers and cargo ships hauling coal and ore crowded its shores.

Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, and storms can quickly produce mountainous waves on the once glassy surface of the lake. Early in the port’s history, the townspeople knew a lighthouse was needed, and in 1825, when the town’s population had grown to 300, a notice appeared in the Painesville Telegraph requesting bids for a lighthouse and keeper’s dwelling. This proposal, signed by A. Walworth, Collector of Customs for the District of Cuyahoga, left little to the potential builder’s imagination. Walworth specified the materials to be used, the depth of the foundation, the height, the diameter of the soapstone deck, and even the size, number, and shape of the windows. His specifications for the keeper’s house were every bit as exact. Among other directives, it would be a two-story structure measuring 34 x 20 feet, with three windows in each room, a 12 x 14 foot attached kitchen, and a cellar under “the whole of the house.”

Noted builder Jonathan Goldsmith along with Hiram Wood contracted to build the dwelling and lighthouse for a payment of $2900. Construction proceeded smoothly until it became apparent that there was a miscommunication about the cellar, which Goldsmith had not included in his original calculations. A somewhat aggrieved Walworth eventually contracted Goldsmith to build the cellar for an additional $174.30. As an interesting side note, in 1841 Jonathan Goldsmith applied to be keeper of the lighthouse he had built, but the appointment was given to someone else.

In the fall of 1825, the lighthouse and dwelling were completed and the beacon, fueled by whale oil, was lit for the first time. As one of only eight lighthouses on the Great Lakes, Fairport lighthouse attracted a growing number of vessels to its port, and soon Fairport was known as a “sailor’s town,” rivaling the port of Cleveland.

1871 Fairport Harbor Lighthouse Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

But Fairport wasn’t only a hub of commerce and a gateway to the Western Reserve; it soon became a final stop on the Underground Railroad. Not by accident did the lighthouse act as a beacon of freedom to escaped slaves—the townsfolk actively made it one. The sentiment among the citizens was firmly anti-slavery, and the Fugitive Slave Law proved particularly onerous. In 1850, tavern owner Samuel Butler became chairman of a citizens’ group that sought to repeal the law, and soon his Eagle Tavern was a haven for escaping slaves and the headquarters for those willing to help. Anti-slavery captains, seamen, townsfolk, and lighthouse keepers colluded to hide the runaway slaves and smuggle them aboard ships bound for Canada. The slaves were frequently hidden in the lighthouse, as Kentucky slave masters canvassed the streets below making vain inquiries.

Unfortunately, only a few years after its construction, the lighthouse began to show signs of wear and tear, and after ten years the foundation had settled so much it required a complete replacement. Within thirty years, the lighthouse had to be encircled with wire hoops to keep it from toppling over, and the townspeople knew they needed to take action.

During the years of its service, the beacon had illuminated one of the major gateways to the West. In 1847 alone, 2,987 vessels carrying countless passengers and cargo valued at almost one million dollars passed through its harbor. It would be inconceivable to lose the lighthouse that not only had added so much to the town’s prosperity, but had also become a landmark for thousands beyond the region’s borders.

On March 3, 1869, Congress approved a $30,000 proposal to replace the Fairport lighthouse with a new tower and keeper’s dwelling, with construction slatted to begin in the spring of 1870. In the meantime, a temporary tower was constructed to keep a beacon burning so the original tower could be demolished. Not wanting to repeat the original builders’ mistake, the new builders hired engineers to determine the best possible foundation. This resulted in a foundation of piles bored over 11 feet deep supporting a foot-thick concrete slab. On top of that was a foot-thick grill of timber, and on top of that was a limestone foundation that extended to ground level. As added insurance, the walls at the base of the lighthouse were built nearly six feet thick.

Fresnel lens used in Fairport Harbor Lighthouse

By September, the extensive foundation and half of the tower were finished when work was halted by what appears to be a bureaucratic glitch. The Act of July 12, 1870, ordered the return of any unspent funds to the Treasury. $21,001.54 of the original $30,000 appropriation had been spent, when the remaining funds were returned to the Treasury. Not until the Act of March 3, 1871, was an additional $10,000 appropriated allowing work on the lighthouse to resume.

By the summer of 1871, the conical, gray Berea sandstone tower and attached brick keeper’s dwelling were complete. On August 11, 1871, a third-order Fresnel lens shone a fixed white light for the first time. The light stood 102 feet above the lake level, the same as the original tower, and was visible for eighteen miles.

Minor improvements were made over the next few decades, including the addition of running water to the red brick keeper’s dwelling and a handrail on the tower, but changes to Fairport Harbor were ushering in a new era for the lighthouse. With ever-increasing industry expanding the use of the harbor, new piers, breakwaters, and a foghorn were installed, and the Grand River channel was widened and deepened to accommodate larger freighters. To better serve the changing harbor, Congress appropriated $42,000 in 1917 for a new combination light and fog station to be constructed on the west breakwater pierhead. However, due to World War I, construction was delayed several years and the new light was not operational until June 9, 1925, when it replaced the light that had been shining on the hill overlooking the harbor for a hundred years.

Part of the funds appropriated for the Fairport Harbor Breakwater Lighthouse were to pay for the demolition of the old lighthouse, but the citizens of Fairport rallied to save their old lighthouse. The Secretary of Commerce received letters of protestation from groups as diverse as the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Kasvi Temperance Society, the Council of Willoughby, Ohio, and the Painesville Kiwanis club. The barrage of appeals was successful, and the Secretary of Commerce consented to leave the now-obsolete lighthouse standing.

The next twenty years saw the slow deterioration of the defunct lighthouse. Near the end of World War II, town officials began a discussion of needed improvements to Fairport, and the suggestion was made to raze the dilapidated lighthouse. The response to this was as swift and strong as a November storm. The old tower might be an eyesore, but it had played a vital part in the town’s history and symbolized the area’s role in the expansion of commerce and freedom.

Once more the town rallied, this time founding the Fairport Harbor Historical Society, whose mission was to preserve and celebrate the town’s nautical heritage. The Society sought and received permission from the government to turn the lighthouse and keeper’s dwelling into a Marine Museum. Once news of the endeavor spread, donations from retired sailors and landlubbers alike soon came pouring in - old logbooks, sextants, photographs, pieces of historical vessels, compasses, and steering wheels. The museum, the country’s first lighthouse marine museum, opened in 1945. Visitors can now walk through the same space where runaway slaves once hid, gaze on historic photographs of the men who cared for the beacon, and read the log books of ships that were guided to safety by Fairport’s light.

Photo Gallery: 1 2 3

References

1. “Fairport’s Guiding Light,” Deborah Hays in Western Reserve.
2. “Fairport’s Lighthouses”.
3. “Samuel Butler: First Lighthouse Keeper in Fairport Harbor,” The Lake County Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 19, March, 1977.
4. “History of Fairport Lighthouse,” by Frank. G. Johnson.
5. “Great Lakes Marine Museum,” Dwight Boyer, Toledo Blade Pictorial, March 2, 1952.