The Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse was built in 1822 and it is America’s oldest surviving lighthouse tower on Lake Ontario. A reproduction fourth order Fresnel lens using acrylic prisms was installed in 2014 and it was dedicated to John Ochs and Benjamin O’Brien, two founding members of the Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse Historical Society. The United States Coast Guard has designated it as a second class light, which shows on navigational charts as light number 2333.
The historic direction of light per the 1878 light list is a 103-degree light spread. It is on the Genesee River in the City of Rochester, N.Y., an area formerly known as the Village of Charlotte. The tower was constructed on a hill just west of the Genesee River and south of what once was a marshy area on the southern shores of Lake Ontario.
The current Keeper’s House was built in 1863 to replace the original, which was just to the south of the current building. The tower is 40 feet high with an additional 12 feet of height for the lantern room. There are 42 steps and then an 11-rung ladder that takes you into the lantern room where you can experience a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding area.
For More Information
www.geneseelighthouse.org
