Green Island Lighthouse

History

Green Island first drew attention in 1820, when surveyors found celestite there, a mineral mined for strontium.^[2] The federal government bought the 17-acre island at the end of 1851, and a wooden lighthouse followed in the mid-1850s; the sources disagree between 1854 and 1855.^[3,2,4]

That first light lasted less than a decade. On December 31, 1863, in a storm with the temperature far below zero, the building caught fire. Keeper Charles Drake, his wife and their daughter tried to put it out with buckets of lake water, failed, and spent the night wrapped in comforters inside the outhouse, the only structure left standing. A rescue party that included the keeper's son reached them the next day, and all three were alive.^[2] Ohio Sea Grant gives the year of the fire as 1864.^[5]

The replacement, a two-storey limestone house with a square tower attached at one end, was finished in 1864 or 1865.^[2,4] Later keepers added a barn and, in 1889, a boathouse linked to the station by a walkway along the island.^[2] The light was automated in 1926, and in 1939 the Coast Guard put up a taller steel tower at the island's southwest corner and shut down the old one.^[2] Vandals later set fires that left only the stone walls.^[4]

The station's fourth-order Fresnel lens is now displayed at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo.^[4] The ruin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.^[6] Green Island is a state wildlife area closed to visitors, so the shell can be seen only from the water, while the modern skeleton tower nearby still shows a white flash.^[5,7]

How to see it

Ruin or relocated Only ruins remain, or the tower has been moved from its original site.

Best public viewpoint

Only from the water; the whole island is a closed wildlife area. Ferries and boats between the mainland and South Bass Island pass within distant view.^[5]

Tower climbs

No public tower climbs have been offered, as far as our sources show.

Last verified

Last verified 2026-10

Access details last verified 2026-10. Hours, tours and ownership change. Check the operator before you go. Pier and breakwater lights can be dangerous in wind and waves; obey posted closures and never enter private or Coast Guard property.

Questions people ask

Can you visit Green Island Lighthouse?

No. Green Island is a state wildlife area, and visits are prohibited without written permission from the ODNR Division of Wildlife. The ruin can be seen only from the water.

What happened to the first Green Island lighthouse?

It burned on New Year's Eve 1863 during a severe storm. The keeper's family survived the night in an outhouse and was rescued the next day.

Is there still a light on Green Island?

Yes, but not in the old building. Since 1939 the light has been shown from a steel skeleton tower at the southwest corner of the island.