Port Clinton's Lightkeepers - Linda Higgins
An important historical marker sits a short distance from the Port Clinton lighthouse. It pays homage to the keepers of the original stone lighthouse and the replacement that now sits on the lakefront. The stunning bronze sculpture standing on the mound with the marker enhances that tribute. The keeper and his dog were sculpted by local artist Andy Sacksteder and dedicated to our keepers.
Levi Johnson, a Cleveland contractor, built our first lighthouse: round and of split-stone construction, 40 feet tall. It had eight lamps with reflectors and sent light ten miles out into the lake. Johnson also built the keeper’s dwelling, a one-story residence, 20 by 34 feet in size, to sit right near the tower. All lighthouses, especially more than 100 years ago, needed 24-hour attention. Our first keeper of the lights, Austin Smith, began his vigil shortly after the lighthouse was built in 1833.
Smith, a Connecticut sea captain, took up residence with his family. His granddaughter, Juliet, was the first child to be born there. Smith also housed people who had been shipwrecked. Some of those stranded would later choose to stay in Port Clinton. Smith was continuing the practice of earlier parties who were cared for by the few people who lived near the shore at that earlier time. Stephen Pleasonton was in charge of the country’s lighthouses, and he decided that the lighthouse be discontinued in 1843. This was on recommendations from inspectors who felt the light was useless. Even so, Smith stayed on until 1848. During the period from 1848 to 1853, William Craighill, then Benjamin Orcutt, tended the lights in spite of the lighthouse’s dubious future.
George Momemy (spelled Momeny in some literature) was an 1853 Democratic Party appointee for the position, and stayed on for 6 years. In 1859, A. Borden took over for a short period of time. After him, the light was discontinued by the United States Lighthouse Service. Then, in 1864, the light was reactivated. Leander Porter and his wife took responsibility until 1870. At that time the lighthouse was closed, and the lantern room removed from the tower. For some time after, a maintenance worker was paid $1 to live in the empty building, keeping it in repair.
Those who lived in the cottage during this period of transition were not true keepers, but did maintain the dwelling and area. They included Captain William Duff and his family; the Widow Goode and her children; Mrs. M. Converse and William Battin; Mrs. Laura K'Burg and sons; and Peter and Mary Hineline. A new pier head light was built on the extended west pier in 1896. This is the structure that sits on our lake shore now.
Keepers became civil service employees in 1896. Their employment moved among agencies until 1910, when Congress created the Bureau of Lighthouses. The U.S. Coast Guard took charge of lights in 1939.
Keeper of this new light was the Hinelines’ son-in-law, Robert Wakefield (or Waterfield, as he’s listed in some publications!) He and an assistant razed the old tower. The stone was taken by scow to the Detroit River for use as riprap. In 1899, the stone cottage was torn down. A new frame cottage was built in 1901 on the east pier. Subsequently, a boathouse (later demolished) was built for the keeper’s boat trips between the new lighthouse and cottage. The current boathouse is an exact replica of the original (demolished) boathouse.
From 1900 to 1952, the keepers were: Daniel Finn and William Egather, assistant, 1900; George Pope, 1900-1911; David Sutherland (and son Wallace), 1912-1926; and Clarence “Rip” Perry, 1926-1952. At that point, Dave Jeremy relocated the lighthouse to his marina rather than allow it to be destroyed by burning.
All of Port Clinton’s lightkeepers did far more than keep the light burning, although that was their primary chore. Whether men with families (wives and children often worked alongside them) or solitary individuals, they worked 24/7. In all weather, they maintained the lighthouse, boathouse, cottage, and grounds, as well as watched the lake for vessels in distress. The marker and sculpture near the lighthouse and boathouse on our lake shore are dedicated to the strength, courage, and tenacity that keepers’ demonstrated daily for over a century.
