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L i g h t h o u s e s o f t h e G r e a t L a k e s
Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse,
New York
The Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse was built in 1822 and
it is America's oldest surviving lighthouse tower on Lake On-
tario. A reproduction fourth order Fresnel lens using acrylic
prisms was installed in 2014 and it was dedicated to John Ochs
and Benjamin O'Brien, two founding members of the Char-
lotte-Genesee Lighthouse Historical Society. The United States
Coast Guard has designated it as a second class light, which
shows on navigational charts as light number 2333.
The historic direction of light per the 1878 light list is a
103-degree light spread. It is on the Genesee River in the City
of Rochester, N.Y., an area formerly known as the Village of
Charlotte. The tower was constructed on a hill just west of the
Genesee River and south of what once was a marshy area on
the southern shores of Lake Ontario.
The current Keeper's House was built in 1863 to replace the
original, which was just to the south of the current building. The
tower is 40 feet high with an additional 12 feet of height for the
lantern room. There are 42 steps and then an 11-rung ladder
that takes you into the lantern room where you can experience
a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding area.
(www.geneseelighthouse.org) n
