Decomishioned Lighthouse on Lake Champlain NY

Valcour Island Lighthouse, Peru New York

Date added: August 16, 2023 Categories:

West facade facing New York shore (1992)

The 19^th century was an increasingly commercial period for Lake Champlain. The development of lighthouses and other navigational aids not only paralleled this growth in commerce, but was a prerequisite for it. The construction and maintenance of lighthouses has been a Federal Government responsibility since 1789 when Congress created the Lighthouse Establishment and placed it under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Treasury. Responsibility for aids to navigation remained in the Treasury Department until 1903, when the Lighthouse Service was transferred to the newly-created Department of Commerce and Labor. Finally, in 1939 the Lighthouse Service was merged with the U.S. Coast Guard, which has retained jurisdiction over lighthouses to this day.

Prior to the advent of railroads or trucks, Lake Champlain provided the only economical means of transporting North Country products to the marketplaces of the mid-Atlantic and New England states. Pulpwood, iron ore, coal, granite, marble, graphite and lumber constituted the bulk of products shipped via Lake Champlain, with lumber and iron ore being the mainstays of trade. The building of canals in New York (ca.1825) and Quebec brought about a marked increase in lake traffic. With the opening of the Champlain Canal in 1823, Canadian lumber also became an important part of commercial traffic on the lake. Although a longer route, lumber originating at Lake Ontario was often shipped via Lake Champlain to avoid the Erie Canal, which boasted some 136 miles of tolls. In 1843 the rapids on the Richelieu River were bypassed by the Chambly Canal and, by way of a lock at St. Ours, near Sorel, and the Champlain Canal, vessels could now access the Hudson River which provided deep water navigation south to the port of New York City. Large quantities of grain, from both the American midwest and Canada's own wheat-growing district, also passed through the canals and Lake Champlain to be shipped overseas from New York. The removal of custom duties by Congress on Canadian goods at mid-century provided another impetus for trade between the two countries resulting in increased traffic on Lake Champlain. During the 1870's new veins of high-quality ore were located and mined at Dannemora, Lyon Mountain, Bellmont, and Standish (New York), causing a significant increase in the amount of ore shipped on the lake. At the height of their output in the 1880s Clinton and Essex County's mines produced nearly 1/10^th of all the iron mined in the U.S.

As commerce expanded after the Civil War, so did the need for additional lighthouses. The increased volume of traffic and the growth in the size of ships made improved lighting for safe navigation of treacherous areas imperative. The Valcour Island Lighthouse was built during this period; a time when commercial traffic had been rapidly increasing on Lake Champlain and local politicians were pressing the federal government for better beacons to safeguard night shipping.

The first lighthouse on Lake Champlain was built by the U.S. government on Juniper Island, Vermont in 1826, shortly after the New York State canals were opened. The government continued to build lighthouses along the lake, averaging two a decade, until the network of navigational aids (13 light towers and 10 other major structures) was completed in 1891.

In September of 1870 the United States government surveyed the site for a light station at Bluff Point on Valcour Island. This site overlooked the site of the Battle of Valcour (1776) during which a small fleet commanded by Benedict Arnold resisted an invasion by a larger British fleet commanded by Sir Guy Carleton. Early in 1871 action was taken to procure title to the land, and by May 1871 specifications for the lighthouse were printed and an advertisement for bids was published. Questions arose concerning title to the land which caused an extensive examination of it, the bill for which was judged to be "exorbitant" by the Secretary of the Treasury, William Richardson. Recent research has indicated that Orren Shipman, owner of the land the government wished to purchase, was apparently involved in a double land swindle with the Dawn Valcour Community ("The Head Center of Advanced Spiritualism and Free Love"), a group of Utopian free-thinkers who believed in community ownership, associative labor, and viewed marriage as a form of slavery. He offered them Valcour Island as well as property in Vermont for $31,000, with a $10,000 down payment. After selling the lighthouse parcel to the government, Shipman then turned around and told the Community he was giving them the entire island. The Dawn Valcour Community lived on the island, side-by-side with the lighthouse and its keeper, for just a brief time (September 1874 - August 1875) largely due to economic and leadership problems.

Construction of the Valcour Island Lighthouse began in 1871 and was completed in 1874, at which time it was placed under the jurisdiction of the Third Lighthouse District, extending from Gooseberry Point, Massachusetts, to Squan Inlet, New Jersey, aS well as Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. Lighthouse design evolved gradually during the 19^th century, with variations between harbor and coast lights; however, the most common design consisted of a conical tower built of brick or wood with a keeper's residence attached at its side or back, or simply the tower alone. During the first half of the 19^th century, Lighthouse design was primarily utilitarian with minimal attention paid to the prevailing stylistic influences. However, Post-Civil War era lighthouses, particularly those built in the 1860s and 1870s, such as the Valcour Island Lighthouse, typically incorporated contemporary architectural styles into their functional design. This change reflected the newly established solidarity of the Lighthouse Board in the 1850's. Before that time, there was no central administration of lighthouse construction or operation. In the 1850s, with the founding of the Federal Lighthouse Board, the government's aid-to-navigation function gained a national, administrative identity. While local contractors were still engaged for lighthouse construction, the centralization permitted nationwide control of design. Thus, the stylish lighthouses of the 1860s and 1870s were an early expression of this national stability and centralized planning. Most lighthouses from this period followed the Second Empire style. The Valcour Island Lighthouse, with its tower set squarely atop the residence and distinctive Second Empire Characteristics (i.e., symmetrical square block, mansard roof with dormer windows, and central pavilion/tower projecting above roof line), clearly reflects this era of lighthouse design. Other extant examples in of this genre in New York State include the Barber Point Lighthouse (1873) in Westport, Esopus Meadows Lighthouse (1871) in Esopus, Hudson-Athens Lighthouse (1874) in Hudson/Athens, and Stepping Stones Lighthouse (1876) in North Hempstead. Within a decade after these architecturally distinct lighthouses were completed, the centralization of design, which first led to stylization in lighthouses, shifted to a standardized pre-fabricated iron caisson tower which became the predominant type of light structure built in American waters during the 1880s

The advent of the railroads in the last quarter of the 19^th century brought about the decline of commercial traffic on the lake. By the turn of the century, the fleets of sloops and schooner-rigged canal boats had largely disappeared; however, some canal boats continued to use the lake and Champlain Canal. Pulpwood for the region's prosperous paper mills continued to be carried by canal boats well into the 1920s. The railroad, however, gradually replaced water routes and the state's canal gradually fell into disrepair which had a significant effect on Lake Champlain shipping. This falling into disuse of waterways in favor of rail transport was a national trend of the late 19^th century.

Extant keeper's logs in the possession of the Clinton County Historical Museum indicate that the lighthouse routine was fairly stable over time (1903-1915). During the summer months, the light was lit around 7:30 pm and kept lit for 8 1/2 - 9 1/2 hours, using about 6 gallons of oil per month. In fall and winter, the lamp was lit at 4:30 pm and kept going for 13-14 hours, using about 11 gallons of oil per month. The light from the Valcour Island Lighthouse was visible for 13 miles in every direction. Although the Lighthouse Service began testing electricity around 1900, the Champlain Valley lighthouses were not electrified until the 1920s and 1930s because of their remoteness from power lines. In 1929 the function of the Valcour Island Lighthouse was replaced by a steel framework tower built on a small parcel of land about 100 feet from the southwest corner of the lighthouse. The tower held an automated, battery-powered light that needed no keeper. The Valcour Island Lighthouse was decommissioned, and on June 3^rd, 1931, the Secretary of Commerce directed that it be sold by sealed bid to the highest bidder. The lighthouse has since had four private owners, the last of whom granted the Clinton County Historical Association a conservation easement when selling the property to the State (NYS/DEC) in 1986. This conservation easement entitled the Clinton County Historical Association the right to preserve and maintain the Valcour Island Lighthouse in perpetuity.

Building Description

The Valcour Island Lighthouse (1874) is located on the western shore of Valcour Island in Lake Champlain, town of Peru, Clinton County. Valcour Island, which is the largest island on the New York side of the lake (985 acres), is famous for its many rare geological, botanical, and wildlife features as well as for its association with colonial period military history. The lighthouse occupies a one-and-one-half-acre parcel atop a bluff (Bluff Point) overlooking Lake Champlain facing the New York shore of the lake. The parcel is bounded by natural forested land to the north, east, and south, and Lake Champlain to the west. There are two contemporaneous buildings on the parcel; a one-story 3x2 bay clapboard shed and a privy.

The Valcour Island Lighthouse, built in the Second Empire style, is a square-shaped (approximately 28-1/2 feet square) 3x3 bay building with a rusticated coursed ashlar (dark blue limestone) first story and a mansard roof faced with cedar shingles that form the second story. The light tower (eight feet square) rises two stories above the mansard roof on the west elevation; the mansard roof shingling terminates in an octagonal cantilevered balcony that surrounds the light. Three plain windows are located on the east, south, and north side of the tower. The glass-encased beacon forms a cupola on top of the tower and features a domed roof with an unusual finial. The building rests upon a heavy plinth base with above-ground basement windows.

The lighthouse is oriented east-west, with the primary elevation facing west. Main entry is on the south elevation through paired two-paneled doors occupying the western bay. The rear door (paneled w/glass in upper panels) is located in the southern bay of the east elevation. Wood frame decorative architraves surround second-story and tower windows while first-story door and window surrounds are of stone. Stone lintels over the doors are more decorative than those of the windows. All windows are multi-lite double hung sash; 6/6 on the first floor, 4/4 on the second floor and 2/2 in the tower. Blind windows, which appear to be contemporaneous with the building, occur in the central bay of the west elevation and the western bay of the north elevation. A brick chimney fitted with a hood pierces the roof line on the rear (east) elevation.

The interior of the lighthouse remains virtually intact to its period of construction with its original floor plan, woodworking, built-in Cupboards, wainscotting, paneled doors, plaster walls and wood plank floors intact.

The first-floor plan consists of a kitchen with pantry, living room, bath, and foyer. An open staircase with balustrade leads to the second floor from the foyer. Original built-in cupboards are located in the foyer at the base of the staircase and in the bath. Because of its unusual elongated shape, the cupboard in the bath is thought to have been used to store glass for the beacon and light tower. Wainscotted walls occur in the kitchen and bath. The front entrance contains a small vestibule between the outer and inner door.

The second-floor plan consists of four bedrooms (each with a closet) off a central hallway containing the stairway leading to the tower. The stairway with balustrade curves gracefully upward accommodating itself to the very limited space.

The building rests on a full brick-lined basement, half of which consists of a seven-foot deep cistern used for water storage, which was supplied by a roof gutter. The cistern is no longer in use and has been blocked off to avoid condensation. A set of wooden stairs leads to the first floor.

There is little information concerning the type of lights used in the Valcour Island Lighthouse or the current location of its original light, thought to have been removed when the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1931. However, it is known that the light of the Valcour Island Lighthouse was visible for 13 miles in every direction. Records show that in September of 1870, Engineer Woodruff of the Third Lighthouse District indicated a 3^rd order lens would be required for the lighthouse. Two lighthouse logbooks (1903/4, 1905-10) indicate that a Haines 5^th order lens of the fixed white type was used along with a single wick beacon. This order of light was designated to mark the most prominent points, headlands, or shoals in the large bays or sounds, or obstructions in rivers, and piers and wharves.

Although the lighthouse has had four private owners, there have been few alterations over the years. Minor modifications include: updated plumbing fixtures/appliances in bath and kitchen as well as linoleum-covered floors, suspended textured ceilings in second-floor rooms, and electric power supplied by a generator located at an adjacent property south of the lighthouse.