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The site of Ogdensburg Harbor Lighthouse was once the setting
for the first permanent settlement in New York State.
Francis Piquet, a French missionary, established a mission
fort at the mouth of River La Presentation (now the
Oswegatchie River) in 1749. Fort La Presentation was built
to convert the large native population, and control the
passage between Montreal and the Great Lakes. That same
year, Mohawk Indians burned the fort and two nearby ships. A
detachment of 10 soldiers was sent from Montreal to secure
the fort and settlement. Later, the site was used a "pest
house" for cholera victims.
Ogdensburg was a briefly a battleground during the War of
1812. On February 4, 1813, a small British force crossed
the frozen Saint Lawrence River and captured several U.S.
troops. On February 6, 200 U.S. troops marched to
Elizabethtown (now Brockville) and freed American prisoners
from a local jail, took 52 British prisoners, and a supply of
muskets.
On February 22, the British responded by marching 600 troops
and militia with cannon to Ogdensburg. The British took 50
U.S. prisoners and a quantity of military supplies before
withdrawing to Canada. The Americans decided against
establishing a garrison in Ogdensburg, and the town would
remain undefended for the rest of the war.
The original lighthouse was built in 1834, and replaced in
1870. The Ogdensburg Journal, in comparing the
appearance of the old and new lights, referred to the new light as
"a contemptible structure." (Seaway Trail Video)
The lighthouse was refitted and tower raised to its
current present height in 1900. Its design is similar to the
lighthouses of Stony Point and
Horse Island. The light was
decommissioned in the 1960's, and is no longer active. The stone
residence is 1.5 stories tall, and is attached to a 65-foot
tower.
Seaway Trail Lighthouses (2nd Edition), Tinney, Burdette-Watkins, p.49
Lighthouses of the Seaway Trail (video)
Seaway Trail Guidebook to the War of 1812, Wilder, pp. 74-75
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