Lighthouses of New York

 
   
 

The Great Lakes have played a major part of New York State's development early on in history. New York State is bordered almost completely by water. On the Western end of the state, there is Lake Erie and Lake Ontario connected by the Niagara River. The Northern end there is the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Lake Champlain with the Hudson River running straight south to New York City. In the south eastern end of the state is Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. And last but not least is the Erie Canal that pretty much bisects the state.

This proximity to several major waterways lead to the rapid growth in several key areas. One area that I can comment on is Buffalo, NY being that I live there. Buffalo is situated at the north eastern end of Lake Erie, where the mouth of the Niagara River and the original Erie Canal met. This type of proximity was very important for the industrial growth of Buffalo.


View New York State Lighthouses in a larger map

A historical look at Buffalo reveals that it was a major port city. At one point there was several huge steel mills in the area that employed thousands. With these operations in the area, raw materials were shipped from the Western Great Lakes to Buffalo to be turned into steel. With all this increased shipping activity came lighthouses to be the guiding light. At one point Buffalo even had a lightship. It was lost at sea during a ferocious winter storm with winds just about reaching hurricane force. It was later recovered and put back into service in a new location.

Ambrose Lightship (LV-87/WAL-512) - 1907
New York, New York

Barcelona (Portland Harbor) - 1829
Westfield, New York

Blackwell Island - 1872
Roosevelt Island, New York

Braddock Point - 1896
Parma, New York

Brewerton Rear Range - 1917
Hastings, New York

Buffalo Breakwater - 1961
Buffalo, New York

Buffalo Intake Crib - 1908
Buffalo, New York

Buffalo Main - 1833
Buffalo, New York

Buffalo North Breakwater, South Side - 1903
Buffalo, New York

Cape Vincent Breakwater - 1900
Cape Vincent, New York

Cedar Island - 1868
Sag Harbor, New York

Charlotte - Genesee - 1853
Rochester, New York

Crossover Island - 1882
Hammond, New York

Dunkirk - 1875
Dunkirk, New York

Dunkirk Pierhead - 1992
Dunkirk, New York

East Charity Shoal - 1877
off Cape Vincent, New York

Esopus Meadows - 1872
Esopus, New York

Execution Rocks - 1849
Sand's Point, New York

Fire Island - 1858
Fire Island National Seashore, New York

Fort Niagara - 1872
Youngstown, New York

Frying Pan Lightship - 1930
New York, New York

General Lighthouse Depot (Staten Island) - 1863
Staten Island, New York

Grand Island Front Range - 1917
Dunkirk, New York

Horseshoe Reef - 1856
Buffalo, New York

Hudson City Light (Hudson-Athens) - 1874
Hudson, New York

Island Street Boatyard - 1998
North Tonawanda, New York

Jeffrey's Hook - 1921
New York, New York

Latimer Reef - 1884
Fishers Island Sound, New York

Montauk Point - 1796
Montauk, New York

Niagara River Rear Range - 1885
Buffalo, New York

Oak Orchard (Replica) - 2010
Point Breeze, New York

Ogdensburg Harbor - 1870
Ogdensburg, New York

Olcott Harbor (Replica) - 2003
Olcott, New York

Oswego West Pierhead - 1934
Oswego, New York

Rochester Harbor - 1995
Rochester, New York

Rock Island - 1882
Fishers Landing, New York

Rondout Creek (Kingston) - 1915
Kingston, New York

Salmon River (Selkirk) - 1838
Pulaski, New York

Sisters Island - 1870
Three Sisters Island, New York

Sodus Bay - 1871
Sodus Bay, New York

Sodus Outer - 1938
Sodus Point, New York

South Buffalo Northside - 1903
Dunkirk, New York

South Buffalo Southside - 1903
Buffalo, New York

Statue of Liberty - 1886
New York, New York

Stony Point - 1869
Henderson Harbor, New York

Sturgeon Point - 1924
Sturgeon Point, New York

Sunken Rock - 1884
Alexandria Bay, New York

Thirty Mile Point - 1875
Somerset, New York

Tibbetts Point - 1854
Cape Vincent, New York

Titanic Memorial - 1913
New York, New York

Verona Beach - 1917
Verona Beach, New York

There are 51 lighthouses featured on this site for New York.

 


All photographs and information on this site is copyright © 2016 Bryan Penberthy unless otherwise specified. No content may be used without written permission. Any questions or comments, please email me.