Windmill Point
|
Windmill Point Quick Facts
Year Station Established: 1830
Is the Light operational? Yes
Year Light First Lit: 1858
Year Automated: Octagonal
Shape: 40
Tower Height: 6th Order, Fresnel ft.
Original Optic: 300mm
Present Optic: Yes
Existing Keepers Quarters? 1858
Year Constructed: 1.5
Number of Stories: Attached
Architectural Style: Granite
Construction Materials:
|
Windmill Point Light
Alburg, VT
Click here for more Photos
(4 photos, 178KB total download)
| Last Visited: November, 2002 History/Info:
In 1858, the Lighthouse Board constructed three new stations on Lake
Champlain using a standardized design. Except for height, the towers are
nearly identical. Each of these "Three Sisters" had an octagonal tower of
rough-hewn blue limestone block, an iron lantern with trapezoid panes, and
a passageway connecting it to a Cape Cod style keeper's quarters. This
station with its sturdy house built of rubble stone replaced on of the
many old private lights with a new sixth order Fresnel optic. Its fixed
white light in the 40 foot tower created a focal plane 52 feet above the
lake's surface that made it visible for 13 miles.
A course line between
the lights at Windmill Point and Isle La Motte marks a channel clear of
reefs and rocks through these narrows. This most northern light was kept
in good order until replaced in 1931 by an acetylene light on a steel
skeleton tower that is now solar powered.
In 2001, the Coast Guard wanted to re-light some of the Lake Champlain
lighthouses. Windmill Point was one of the ones on their list. In 2002 the
lighthouse was once again re-lit.
Source:
Lake Champlain Lighthouses
Latitude/Longitude: 44°59'N 73°20'W
Directions:
click
here for overview map -
click here for detailed map
- From the NY/VT border on US 2 (at the bridge going over Lake Champlain)
head east into Vermont.
- In 1.9 miles take a sharp right onto Windmill Point Rd. (it's a dirt road)
- Follow Windmill Point for 1.5 miles to the lighthouse (Windmill Pt.
becomes SR 20 after 1.1 miles)
|
|