The U.S. state of Ohio has a coastline that faces north on Lake Erie. Toledo in the west and Cleveland in the east are the largest lake ports, but there are a number of smaller ports. There are also a number of islands in Ohio's portion of the lake. There is no state lighthouse preservation society in Ohio, but many of the towers are supported by local societies. The historic Marblehead Light, the oldest U.S. lighthouse on the Great Lakes, is by far the state's best known lighthouse. Two other historic towers (at Ashtabula and Fairport Harbor) have been restored and are open to the public. Much work has been done to restore the Lorain Harbor Light, and efforts are underway to restore the Toledo Harbor Light. Determined effort has also been successful in restoring the harbor lighthouse at Port Clinton. Aids to navigation in Michigan are maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Ninth District, with Aids to Navigation Teams at Detroit and Buffalo. Ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in many cases. Special thanks to Ron Schooling for his research on Ohio's inland lighthouses. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. USCG numbers are from Volume VII of the United States Coast Guard Light List.
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Lake Erie Lighthouses
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![]() West Sister Island Light, Lake Erie, September 2007 photo copyright Captnhuey; permission requested |
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![]() Rattlesnake Island Light, Put-in-Bay Township, September 2012 photo copyright Erik Nyfenger; used by permission |
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![]() Cedar Point Light, Sandusky, August 2014 Flickr Creative Commons photo copyright 2014 Matt Dempsey Photography |
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![]() Great blue heron and Huron Harbor Light, Huron, July 2011 Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Jstuby |
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Inland Lighthouses
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![]() Coney Island Light, Cincinnati, June 2005 Flickr photo copyright Bill Eichelberger; used by permission |
Information on Lost Lighthouses
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Southwestern Ontario | East: Northwestern Pennsylvania | West: Michigan's Southeastern Lower Peninsula
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Last checked and revised November 26, 2018. Lighthouses: 46. Site copyright 2018 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.