Champlain Memorial Light/Fmr. Crown Point Lighthouse - Crown Point, NY
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member NorStar
N 44° 01.797 W 073° 25.292
18T E 626489 N 4876410
The Champlain Memorial Light, made out of the Crown Point Light, stands today as a memorial to the French Explorer who discovered this lake, Samuel de Champlain.
Waymark Code: WMT5T6
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 09/30/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Bernd das Brot Team
Views: 1

In Crown Point, on the shore of Lake Champlain, is the Champlain Memorial Light, a beacon that was made from the Crown Point Lighthouse.

The memorial is located within the Crown Point State Campground, located east of the Crown Point State Historic Site. You may need to pay a modest fee to enter. From the entrance, the light is at the end of the road.

The memorial is a granite structure with a beacon at the top. The memorial has an entrance at the base and a spiral staircase inside to an observation deck for the public. For staff, there is a short vertical ladder to a trap door to the level with lights. From the deck, you have a 360 view of the area, including the Champlain Bridge to the north and the rest of lake to the south. Adorning the memorial on the north side are figures of Samuel Champlain, another French explorer, and a Native American. The bow of a canoe protrudes below. Below that is a half-bust and text stating that this is dedicated to Champlain.

The Wikipedia article states that this memorial was made from the Crown Point light, which was moved here from a point located east of the ruins of Fort Frederic (about a half mile away), about where the present Champlain Bridge is located. It continues:

"The stone sheath of the tower was stripped away, leaving the brick spiral staircase sitting on the foundation. A new tower was constructed on and around this, consisting of a short tapered base, a ring of eight Doric columns, an elaborately carved cornice and parapet, and a new lantern atop the whole... A fifth order Fresnel lens continued to shine in the lantern giving a fixed white light, and the old keeper's house remained in place, attached to the new tower by a short passageway...

The memorial served as an active lighthouse for only fourteen years. In 1926 its light was extinguished, and a small skeleton tower was erected immediately adjacent to the water... The property was transferred to the State of New York, which continues to maintain it as part of the state reservation which forms the tip of the peninsula; the keeper's house was demolished, leaving the monument standing alone at the top of the bluff. The tower is marked on navigational charts, but does not currently serve as an aid to navigation."

So, I'm not sure if the memorial continues to have a rotating beacon or not. While in Ticonderoga, I had a chance to see the shore of Lake Champlain at night. I saw a flashing light in that direction, but I can't confirm that it was the memorial.

Source:

Wikipedia (Crown Point Light):
(visit link)

New York Department of Environmental Conservation (Crown Point Campground):
(visit link)
Coastal Lighthouse: Lighthouse

Range Lights: Not listed

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