Erie Land Lighthouse: A Microcosm of Nineteenth-Century Great Lakes Maritime History

Abstract

The Erie Land Lighthouse was a visible link in the early eighteenth century western frontier trade network. Lighting the harbor entrance to Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1818 until the close of the century, the Erie Land Lighthouse contributed to the emergence of Erie as a vital shipping port connecting the Great Lakes to expanding inland markets. Constructed in 1818, the Erie Land Lighthouse (formerly, Presque Isle Lighthouse) was the first of a series of lighthouses built by the United States to aid navigation and promote shipping on the Great Lakes. As with its contemporaries, the original 1818 structure was replaced in 1858 by a taller lighthouse and a more elaborate keeper's residence. Structural flaws required the 1858 lighthouse to be replaced in 1867 by a third, which still stands today. The record of the Erie Land Lighthouse mirrors the history of similar facilities and processes across the Great Lakes. Unlike other locations, however, the Erie, Pennsylvania, site is archaeologically unique due to the presence of remnants of all phases of its construction and use history. Archaeological investigation of the first two sequent lighthouse structures on the site recovered a range of artifacts reflecting the government ownership of the lighthouse property, the site's advantageous location in a commercial hub, the effects of local and regional competition, and the day-to-day life of the lighthouse keepers. Details of the archaeological excavations at the Erie Land Lighthouse are provided and the site is placed in the larger context of lighthouse construction and use on the Great Lakes.