South Bass Island Lighthouse

South Bass Island Lighthouse

Located at Put-In-Bay, the South Bass Island lighthouse was completed in 1895 in order to mark the Southern passage from Toledo to Sandusky. The lighthouse was unique for its time, featuring a redbrick 2.5 story Queen Anne style house with a 60 ft tower attached to one corner. The lighthouse included a fourth order Fresnel lens that was originally lit by oil. In 1962, the light was shut down, and the building and grounds became property of the Ohio State University, making it the only university owned lighthouse in the country. Today many people take advantage of the lighthouse grounds, tour the building and enjoy the view of Lake Erie.

Located at Put-In-Bay, the South Bass Island lighthouse was completed in 1895 in order to mark the Southern passage from Toledo to Sandusky. The lighthouse was unique for its time, featuring a redbrick 2.5 story Queen Anne style house with a 60 ft tower attached to one corner. The lighthouse included a fourth order Fresnel lens that was originally lit by oil. In 1962, the light was shut down, and the building and grounds became property of the Ohio State University, making it the only university owned lighthouse in the country. Today many people take advantage of the lighthouse grounds, tour the building and enjoy the view of Lake Erie.

Beyond the beautiful grounds and unique architecture, the South Bass Island Lighthouse also has a notorious past. The tenure of the first lighthouse keeper Harry Riley was marked by mysterious tragedy when his assistant, Samuel Anderson committed suicide by jumping off a cliff near the lighthouse. To make matters stranger, Anderson had reportedly locked himself in the lighthouse basement with a collection of snakes leading up to his suicide. There were also rumors Anderson had actually been pushed off the cliff. The day after Anderson’s death, a completely insane Riley was apprehended by the Sandusky police. He was eventually committed to the state mental hospital and died the following year. Given this strange history, the lighthouse remains a popular attraction for ghost hunters to this day, and many visitors report experiencing a number of strange phenomena including slamming doors, unexplained noises, and ghostly apparitions.