The first light marking Ashtabula's harbor was built in 1836, a short
hexagonal wooden tower standing on a wooden crib just off the eastern pier. This used the oil lamps typical of the time and remained in service until replaced by a new tower on the west pier, a pyramidal tower with clapboard sides. This change was prompted by changes in the harbor configuration. The new light was equipped with a fourth-order
Fresnel lens, exhibiting a red light. Keepers lived in a frame house in town. This tower was moved in 1882 but remained in service. The light was the last Great Lakes light to be staffed, and was finally automated in 1973. The lighthouse itself continued in service, even as the breakwater was extended past it. In 2003 a society was formed to take possession of the light under the
National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, and they applied for the light when it was offered in the following year. In May 2008 they received a grant to allow them to construct a floating dock, necessary since all access to the light is by water. The Society has in fact acquired the light. == References ==