Travelers who are hunting for ocean side energy right in the middle of the Midwest, you have to pack a picnic and head straight to Marblehead Lighthouse State Park in Ohio. Perched right on the rocky tip of the Marblehead Peninsula, this stunning white tower with a bright red top looks like something straight out of a New England postcard. It is widely considered the most photographed landmark in the entire state of Ohio, and it is a total bucket list stop for anyone traveling around Lake Erie.
The big headline here is the history. This place holds the crown as the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the American side of the Great Lakes. It was built by a contractor named William Kelly and a crew of just a few men way back in 1821. They pulled it off in just eleven weeks using chunks of native Columbus limestone that they quarried right from the peninsula. When they officially lit the beacon in June of 1822, it stood fifty feet tall and relied on thirteen individual whale oil lamps to warn captains about the shallow, stormy waters of Sandusky Bay. Over the last two centuries, the light has never gone dark, though the fuel source has evolved from whale oil to kerosene, then to electricity, and finally to the super efficient LED system it uses today.
Walking the grounds gives you a great sense of appreciation for what the early keepers went through. In the beginning, there were no steps inside the tower at all. Keepers literally had to scale a series of wooden ladders and planks while balancing heavy buckets of fuel to keep the lamps lit. In 1897, workers finally added a sturdy iron spiral staircase and hoisted the entire tower up an extra fifteen feet to its current sixty-five foot height.
The site is also famous for breaking barriers. Out of the fifteen total keepers who watched over the light across the years, the very first was a Revolutionary War veteran named Benajah Wolcott. When he tragically died during a cholera outbreak in 1832, his wife Rachel took over his duties, officially making her the very first female lighthouse keeper on the entire Great Lakes.
If you are visiting between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day, you can actually buy a ticket for a few dollars and climb those 77 historic iron steps to the top. Standing out on the observation deck is an unforgettable experience. The views across Lake Erie are absolutely spectacular. On a clear day, you can look across the water and easily spot Kellys Island, South Bass Island, and even the giant roller coasters looping into the sky at the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky.
Even if you visit outside the summer climbing season when the tower stairs are closed, the state park grounds are wide open daily from 6 AM to 11 PM. You can explore a beautifully restored 1880 frame keeper’s house that the Marblehead Lighthouse Historical Society runs as a free museum. Inside, you can get a close look at a massive, rare three and a-half order Fresnel lens that used to sit at the top of the tower. There is also a great replica of a United States Life-Saving Service station on site, complete with historic boats and rescue gear exhibits.
The park is on the smaller side, but it is beautifully laid out with plenty of picnic tables set on concrete pads right along the rocky shoreline. It is the ultimate spot to sit on the flat limestone rocks, watch the boats navigate the channel, and enjoy a beautiful Lake Erie sunset.