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D e p a r t m e n t s | GREAT LAKES BOATING 55
BARCELONA LIGHTHOUSE
Westfield, New York
By Roy Sparks
B
arcelona Light, also
known as Portland
Harbor Light, is a light-
house overlooking Bar-
celona Harbor on Lake
Erie in the Town of Westfield, N.Y.
Westfield was once part of the Town of
Portland and the natural harbor there
was known as Portland Harbor. When
the Town of Westfield was established
formally in 1823, the harbor area be-
came known as Barcelona.
Through the efforts of Thomas
B. Campbell, the 40-foot-tall Barcelo-
na Lighthouse was finished in 1829.
Congress appropriated $5,000 on May
23, 1828, "For building a lighthouse
at a proper site, at or near Portland,
on Lake Erie, in the state of New
York." The site was purchased for
$50 and contract was made to erect
a lighthouse and dwelling, which cost
$3,456.78.
The light was emitted by 11 lamps
with 14-inch (360 mm) reflectors and it
was the first lighthouse in the world to
be powered by natural gas. Campbell
transported the gas from a "burning
spring" about a mile distant by means
of wooden pipes. Thirty years later, in
1859, the lighthouse was deactivated.
At that time it became privately held
through various owners until 2008,
when New York State Office of Parks,
Recreation and Historic Preserva-
tion acquired it. Though it no longer
has the original lens, nor is used for
navigational purposes, it is still lit and
visible today through an agreement
with the Town of Westfield. The
lighthouse is listed on the U.S. Na-
tional Register of Historical Places.
