PUT-IN-BAY — Most tourists who take Miller Ferry to South Bass Island turn right as they huff and puff up the steep hill from the boat dock. From there, it’s a couple of miles in a taxicab, golf cart, or on bicycle to downtown Put-in-Bay.
Steps away to the left, though, is one of the island’s most peaceful and idyllic settings — one that will likely catch on with more people in the coming year.
The 119-year-old South Bass Island Lighthouse, which Ohio State University acquired from the federal government in 1967, has been restored and is being made available by the university for weddings and other special events starting in 2017, Chris Winslow, interim Ohio Sea Grant and OSU Stone Laboratory director, said.
The public has a chance to visit it and nearby Gibraltar Island at no charge from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday when the Friends of Stone Laboratory hosts its 18th annual open house.
Free transportation to Gibraltar will be provided from the Aquatic Visitors Center jointly operated by Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State University on the opposite side of South Bass Island, just beyond downtown Put-in-Bay. Private water taxis also can be hired for a fee.
Ohio is one of 33 states with a college sea grant program operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The South Bass Island Lighthouse has been like a hidden gem out in plain sight for years now, prominently located near a busy dock but often restricted to the public.
That’s changing. The grounds — which include a butterfly garden installed a few years ago — are often open for picture-taking now, and the property’s shoreline offers one of Lake Erie’s most magnificent views.
Part of the adventure in visiting the lighthouse goes beyond its relaxing, screened-in porch and beautifully decorated living room, kitchen, and bedrooms.
The spiral staircase to the light offers tight twists and turns. The payoff, though, is a panoramic view of Lake Erie at the top.
Built at a cost of only $8,000, the brick lighthouse was used to guide ships from July, 1897, to October, 1962.
It accommodates about 10 people at a time, and — according to Ohio Sea Grant — it is somewhat unique in that respect.
Unlike most lighthouses with huge towers and small, detached quarters, the South Bass Island Lighthouse has 2½ stories of living space in a Queen Anne-style home, a full basement, and an attached 60-foot tower. It also has a laundry room, large kitchen, furnace, and other amenities not normally found in lighthouses.
Back in the ’60s, after it had been retired as a lighthouse, the home was rented out to the family of Harry R. Johnson of Williston, Ohio, for the grand total of $66.50 a month. Mr. Johnson, his wife, and their seven children lived there for five years, according to a Sea Grant brochure.
Ohio State bought it after that five-year rental agreement expired in 1967.
In 1983, NOAA installed a $50,000 meteorological station to assist the National Weather Service.
The lighthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 5, 1990.
The butterfly garden near its entrance is becoming a big hit to visitors, as well as butterflies.
Several monarchs were seen feeding on milkweed there recently, drawing a small crowd of shutterbugs.
Kelly Dress, Stone Laboratory business office manager, said those interested in renting South Bass Island Lighthouse in 2017 should contact Craig Genheimer via email at genheimer.6@osu.edu.
Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com, 419-724-6079, or via Twitter @ecowriterohio.
First Published September 5, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
