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Tibbetts Point Lighthouse marks the point where the Saint
Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario. The point is named after
its original owner, Capt. John Tibbett. The original
lighthouse was built in 1827. The stone tower was 59 feet
high. The present light was built in 1854 to replace the
1827 light.
The new 69-foot stucco tower received a fourth-order Fresnel
lens. A steam-powered fog signal was built in 1896. An air
diaphone replaced the steam whistle in 1927. This was in
turn replaced by a radio beacon. The fog signal is still
operable, but no longer used in part because local residents
complained that the noise shook their homes.
The site was a U.S. Coast Guard station until 1981. The site
is now a hostel managed by Hosteling International USA. The Tibbetts Point
Lighthouse Historical Society, formed in 1988, has taken responsibility
for restoring and preserving the lighthouse and fog signal. The TPLHS
manages a visitor's center
and museum, which opened in 1993. The light is still active,
and is the only operational classical Fresnel lens in Lake Ontario.
A Traveler's Guide to 100 Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses, Penrose, p. 54
Seaway Trail Lighthouses (2nd Edition), Tinney, Burdette-Watkins p. 37
Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses - Ontario, Erie, and Huron, Roberts, Jones p. 11
Lighthouses of the Seaway Trail (video)
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