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Tibbetts Point Lighthouse LbNA #33842

Owner:Cock o' the Trail
Plant date:Aug 3, 2007
Location:
City:Cape Vincent
County:Jefferson
State:New York
Boxes:1
Found by: Delaware Hiker
Last found:Oct 14, 2015
Status:FFFFaaFFFFFaFF
Last edited:Aug 3, 2007
(Temporarily archived at the request of Historical Society in the summer of 2010; returned to active status, July 2011.)

The Tibbetts Point Lighthouse is importantly located where Lake Ontario, and the waters of the entire chain of Great Lakes, discharge into the St. Lawrence River. The 400-mile river flows past the old Canadian city of Kingston and a series of smaller municipalities on both the United States and Canadian sides on its way to Montreal and Citė de Quebec. Cutting through a southward extension of the hard old, hard rock of the Canadian Shield, it sculpts the famed Thousand Island Region. The original series of rapids both west and east of Montreal have been surmounted by the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway, allowing ocean-going ships access to inland ports all the way to Duluth at the western end of Lake Superior, 2,342 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. So, the lighthouse, now on automatic operation, remains an important guide to water-born traffic.

This point of land, originally part of a 600-acre patent to Captain John Tibbett, was deeded to the United States Government in 1827, and the original lighthouse was built. It was replaced by the present 69-ft. round stucco tower in 1854. The lamp has been upgraded in candle-power over the years, starting with whale-oil and proceeding to electric power, but retaining the Fresnel lens that affords its present 16-mile visibility. The fog-whistle was at first activated by steam and then by Diesel-powered airdiaphone until it was discontinued in favor of a radio beacon.

The Tibbetts Point Historical Society now cares for the grounds and facilities, operating an adjunct hostel as well. It has become a favorite tourist attraction, as well as a striking place to view the sun setting over Canada’s Wolfe Island.

The lighthouse is located a few miles west of Cape Vincent, New York, down a charming road that winds along the riverbank beyond NY Rte. 12E. Cape Vincent is also the terminus of the only car-ferry across the St. Lawrence. It will take you over to bucolic Wolfe Island and another, larger ferry at Marysville, this one free, on to Kingston, Ontario. It’s a fun bicycle trip!

CLUES: In earlier times, before it became a relic of past activity and a tourist attraction, the Fog-horn Building was entered by stepping up onto a block of gray stone, and thence into the doorway. Now, the letterbox celebrating this historic place greets you exactly there, though unseen by the casual eye. The groping hand, however, should readily discover it.

Please take care to be discreet in its extraction and replacement, as it’s certainly a very public place.