Lighthouses are buildings equipped with a tower and a lantern room on top. Their uses have gone from helping sea travelers safe in port in ancient times, while today they are heated to keep them away from dangerous shores, shorelines and reefs.
Whether to help them return home safely or throughout their journey to distant lands, headlamps serve as a beacon of safety and their determination will last forever.
Before the 1850s, the good people of Vermilion, Ohio were forced to build their own makeshift lighthouse using wooden stakes with oil lamps marking the entrance to their harbor. Soon, the port grew significantly, creating a need for government help and maintenance.
In 1847, Congress donated $3,000 for the necessary preparation and construction of the Vermilion Lighthouse.
However, by 1852 both the pier and the lighthouse had already become unstable and were in need of repair. And soon after, in 1859, the Vermilion Lighthouse was rebuilt at a cost of $5,000. This new lighthouse came with some much-needed changes: it was wooden with a whale oil lamp for the lighthouse, surrounded by red glass. When turned on, the beacon emitted a red beam visible from Lake Erie.
The woodwork was damaged several years later and a new cast-iron lighthouse was built to replace the old one. This sturdy new building was again dismantled and replaced with a skeletal 18-foot tower.
The Vermilion Lighthouse still stands on the shore of Lake Erie, from the Great Lakes Historical Society. It serves as a historical landmark visited by many lighthouse enthusiasts and historians alike.
Vermilion lighthouse models, as well as many others, are available for outdoor garden decoration.