Grand Island Rear Range Light

In 1825, Mordecai Manuel Noah dedicated a large tract of land on Grand Island that he had persuaded a wealthy benefactor to purchase as a homeland for Jews, but the refuge, which was to be called “Ararat,” failed due to a lack of interested settlers. The cornerstone for the proposed settlement still survives and is in possession of the Erie County Historical Society. The East Boston Company acquired roughly 16,000 acres on Grand Island in 1833 and harvested the large stands of white oaks, which were cut into lumber at a local sawmill and then shipped east via the Erie Canal to be used in shipyards at Boston and New York. After the supply of timber was exhausted, the acreage was sold off to individuals, many of whom established farms on the island.

The next group of individuals to take interest in Grand Island were residents of Buffalo and Niagara Falls who found the island to be an enjoyable retreat. In the late 1800s, several clubs, resorts, and hotels were established on Grand Island to serve the numerous visitors who arrived on steamers. One of these clubs, the Buffalo Launch Club, was incorporated in 1904 and claims to be the first power boat club in North America. After outgrowing their first clubhouse located on Squaw Island, the group purchased property on the east side of Grand Island with ninety feet of frontage on the Niagra River from John V. Bedell on March 12, 1906. The club’s spacious, three-story clubhouse, built later that year, burned to the ground in 1931. Even though club members were feeling the effects of the depression, they built the current clubhouse in 1932 and purchased three adjacent acres from Frank and Charles Fix.

Located on the grounds of the Buffalo Launch Club today is the Grand Island Front Range Light, which worked in tandem with a metal skeletal tower, the Grand Island Rear Range Light, to help guide vessels along the Niagara River. The octagonal Grand Island Front Range Light was constructed of wood in 1917, and after being deactivated, was barged to Grand Island in 1931 by Frank and Charles Fix, who owned Grand Island’s Bedell House Hotel and operated ferries and excursion boats. Before the completion of the Grand Island bridges in 1935, access to the island was by public ferry or private boat. The Fix family later sold the Grand Island Front Range Lighthouse to Mike Steffen, who used it as a trophy room adjacent to his house. The Steffen property and lighthouse were later incorporated into the grounds of the Buffalo Launch Club. The Grand Island Rear Range Lighthouse, shown at right, was relocated to the grounds of the Dunkirk Lighthouse.

In 2004, the launch club formed a restoration committee to rehabilitate its lighthouse. The exterior of the tower was power washed, the dome of the lantern room was painted Buffalo Launch Club blue, and the ventilator ball and lightning arrestor were painted a shiny gold. The lantern room was also fitted with vinyl replacement windows to seal out the elements. Many of Grand Island’s opulent clubs and resorts have been lost to fires or neglect, but the Buffalo Launch Club and its lighthouses remain as reminders of when the island was a popular play spot.

References

1. “Buffalo Launch Club History,” from Isledegrande.com