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.
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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.
Barcelona - 1829
Westfield, New York
Braddock Point - 1896
Braddock Bay, New York
Buffalo Main - 1833
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo North Breakwater - 1903
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo Outer Breakwater - 1961
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
Chippewa Bay, New York
Dunkirk - 1875
Dunkirk, New York
Dunkirk Pierhead - 1992
Dunkirk, New York
East Charity Shoal - 1877
off Tibbetts Point, New York
Esopus Meadows - 1872
Esopus, New York
Fire Island - 1858
Fire Island National Seashore, New York
Fort Niagara - 1872
Youngstown, New York
Grand Island Front Range - 1917
Grand Island, New York
Grand Island Rear Range - 1925
Dunkirk, New York
Horseshoe Reef - 1856
Buffalo, New York
Hudson (Hudson-Athens) - 1874
Hudson, New York
Intake Crib - 1920
Buffalo, New York
Island Street Boatyard - 1998
North Tonawanda, New York
Latimer Reef - 1884
Fishers Island Sound, New York
Montauk Point - 1796
Montauk, New York
Oak Orchard (Replica) - 2010
Waterport, New York
Ogdensburg Harbor - 1870
Ogdensburg, New York
Old Sodus Point - 1871
Sodus Bay, New York
Oswego West Pierhead - 1934
Oswego, New York
Rochester Pierhead - 1995
Rochester, New York
Rock Island - 1882
Fishers Landing, New York
Rondout Creek (Kingston) - 1915
Kingston, New York
Selkirk - 1838
Pulaski, New York
Sodus Pierhead - 1938
Sodus Bay, New York
South Buffalo North Side - 1903
Dunkirk, New York
South Buffalo Southside - 1903
Buffalo, 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
Three Sisters Island - 1870
Sisters Island, New York
Tibbetts Point - 1854
Cape Vincent, New York
Verona Beach - 1917
Verona Beach, New York
There are 41 lighthouses featured on this site for New York.