One of a series.
PORT CLINTON — Lighthouses are credited with saving countless lives, providing a safe beacon to follow in storms and other dire boating navigation challenges.
The Port Clinton Lighthouse had that favor returned in 1952, when David Jeremy opted to save the lone timber-frame pier lighthouse remaining on Lake Erie. The U.S Coast Guard, which had been operating it, wanted it destroyed.
“The Coast Guard wanted Jeremy to burn it,” said Rich Norgard, an Army intelligence veteran and local historian. “But instead, he put it on his property and maintained it fairly well. He essentially saved it.”
Mr. Norgard quoted grandson Clair Jeremy in his book, Lights at the Portage, which details the restorations and relocations of lighthouses along or near the Portage River: “That contract [with the Coast Guard] included five gallons of fuel oil to burn it. My granddad said, ‘I’m not going to do it.’ Instead he hauled it to his property upriver which became Jeremy’s Marina, and that’s where it stood for the next 60 years.”
The marina was sold in 1985 to Darrell Brand, who continued maintaining it.
“And that is where we found it,” Mr. Norgard said. “We formed a committee of about a dozen to restore it in 2011. We talked about its history and got people behind it. It looked pretty good from the outside, but the bottom had been compromised. There was an engineer in our group that designed a way to move it. Once it was restored [in a Brands’ Marina storage building], it has been here at this spot since 2016.”
It’s located in Waterworks Park, between a sandy beach that attracts swimmers and sunbathers and Derby Pond, which is surrounded by an asphalt walking path that takes visitors to its doorstep.
The pyramid-shaped structure is made of white pine, which Mr. Norgard said likely came from Michigan, and painted white with green trim. The interior features beadboard paneling, and it’s only 14 steps to the top of the 26-foot-high beacon.
“You don’t see many wood lighthouses because wood doesn’t last,” said Mr. Norgard, president of the Port Clinton Lighthouse Conservancy and vice president of the Ottawa County Historical Society. “But it has a copper roof, which is why it’s lasted so long.
“People ask why it’s so short. The answer is because of the type of light it is. It is a pier light whose purpose is to guide ships in and out of the harbor. It only needed to be seen 6 to 8 miles away, as opposed to a coastal lights that guides ships up and down the lake. Marblehead [at 65 feet high] is an example of a coastal light.”
Mr. Norgard is one of the docents providing $3 tours from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Children 10 and younger must meet a 42-inch height requirement. The lighthouse is locked the rest of the time, along with the boathouse replica now serving as a museum and gift shop. However, the lighthouse is always accessible for viewing.
“Visitors enjoy that it’s unique,” Mr. Norgard said. “There isn’t another one like it. This is the last timber-frame pier lighthouse.”
He enjoys that it’s unlike the majority of lighthouses constructed of brick, stone, or metal.
“It is unique, special, and really cool,” Mr. Norgard said, a wide smile crossing his face. “There’s just nothing like it. And the work that we all put into it was a labor of love. The people I got to know while working on it are very talented, creative, and caring people who put their heart into this for no other reason than to save it.
“There is something about a lighthouse that is spiritual. There are churches and shelters named lighthouses. It’s the idea of it as a guiding beacon. There is something transcendent about them.
“And it’s really been a big plus for the city. We’ve petitioned for including it in the National Register of Historic Places.”
The first lighthouse in town was built in 1833 on the Portage River rather than along Lake Erie for unknown reasons, according to Mr. Norgard. It was discontinued in 1870.
The current lighthouse was built in 1896 and originally located at the end of one of the still-existing stone jetty piers just west of its current beach location. It was moved there six years ago on barges and placed upon slabs of Marblehead limestone taken from a local quarry.
“People started applauding when it was set down,” he said, “and it attracted about 500 people. People were in tears.”
It featured a fifth-order Fresnel lens and began projecting light from a kerosene lamp beginning in 1914. The acrylic replica of it now resting on a wood pedestal in the lantern room cost $35,000 and was paid for by a local resident requesting anonymity.
There are 16 memorial benches outside it along with a bronze statue of a lighthouse keeper and his dog that includes a plaque dedicated to those who served as keepers.
Locals have gotten behind the Port Clinton Lighthouse with their checkbooks, time, and efforts.
“We’ve had people come from as far away as Georgia to see this,” Mr. Norgard said, noting that lighthouse enthusiasts purchase books they get stamped upon visiting various beacons nationwide.
When they visit this one, they’re taking in a true survivor.
First Published July 2, 2022, 1:00 p.m.
