Rich in waterways, the U.S. state of New York is equally rich in lighthouses. This page includes the lighthouses of central and northern New York, including eastern Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, and several inland lakes. There are additional pages for Western New York and for Southeastern New York. Although there is no state lighthouse preservation society in New York, there are many regional and local preservation groups. Upstate, lighthouse preservation efforts are particularly strong at Buffalo and at several locations on Lakes Ontario and Erie. The lighthouses of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River, however, are less well known and somewhat neglected; many of them are in private hands. Navigational aids in the United States are operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, but ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in many cases. Lighthouses on Lakes Erie and Ontario are operated by the Coast Guard Ninth District in Cleveland, Ohio; those on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain are operated by the Coast Guard First District in Boston, Massachusetts. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. USCG numbers for Lake Champlain lighthouses are from Volume I of the USCG Light List; for the St. Lawrence River and Lakes Erie and Ontario the numbers are from Volume VII. For lights close to the Candian border CCG numbers are from the Canadian Coast Guard's List of Lights, Buoys and Fog Signals. For lights on the St. Lawrence Seaway, Admiralty numbers are from volume H of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. For Oneida Lake and Cayuga Lake lighthouses, NYSC numbers are from the light list of the New York State Canal System.
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Eastern Lake Ontario Lighthouses
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![]() Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Light, Oswego, October 2009 Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Ron Shawley |
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St. Lawrence River Lighthouses (see also Southeastern Ontario)
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Lake Champlain Lighthouses (see also Vermont)
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Oneida Lake Lighthouses
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![]() Verona Beach Light, Verona Verona Beach Lighthouse Association photo; used by permission |
Cayuga Lake Lighthouses
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Other Inland Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Southeastern Ontario | Northeast: Southern Québec | East: Vermont | South: New York City and Hudson River | West: Western New York
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index
Checked and revised December 16, 2018. Lighthouses: 36. Site copyright 2018 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.