Lake Erie Public Access Sites - Ottawa County
South Bass Lighthouse, Ottawa County, Ohio Lake Erie Public Access Site
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Location:
End of
Langram Rd
Put-in-Bay
Township, OH

Latitude:
N 41° 37.75’

Longitude:
W 082° 50.45’

Waterbody:
Lake Erie

Access
Site Type:
Cultural
Educational

Environments:
Bluff

Monitoring:
-

Research:
-

Grants:
- 		At the south end of Put-in-Bay Township’s Langram Road, the South Bass Island Lighthouse has been guiding vessels through Lake Erie’s South Passage since 1897.

Following the 1892 opening of the former Hotel Victory on land currently occupied by South Bass Island State Park, the South Passage became congested. The U.S. Lighthouse Board approved lighthouse construction in 1893.

The South Bass Island Lighthouse is a Queen Anne style brick home with two-and-a-half stories of living space, a full basement and an attached tower. When built, the home was considered very modern with amenities including a laundry room, kitchen range, hot water reservoir, furnace, cistern and hydraulic force pump.

The lighthouse’s 60-foot tower was illuminated by a fourth order Fresnel lens until 1962 when the U.S. Coast Guard automated the light. In 1967, The Ohio State University (OSU) assumed care of the home. In 1983, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration installed a meteorological station that enables satellite transmission of weather information to the National Weather Service. In 1990, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1997, permanent ownership of the lighthouse transferred to OSU. The Coast Guard maintains ownership of the tower.

The lighthouse grounds’ 3 acres are open for foot traffic. A fence lines the steep bluff along the 894-foot long shore. While exact dates and times vary by year, the lighthouse is open for afternoon tours from late-June to mid-August.		 Location Map:
select for larger map of South Bass Island Lighthouse

Select for interactive map viewer of Ohio's Lake Erie Public Access sites

Amenities and Services:
Lighthouse Historic Marker


Learn more:

Ohio State University
Ohio Sea Grant
College Program
(614) 292-8949
ohioseagrant.osu.edu
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Do more:

Ohio Travel Planner   Ohio Events Calendar online  Share your experience traveling Ohio   Put-in-Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau  Lake Erie Shores and Islands Visitors Bureau for Erie and Ottawa counties

See more:

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