Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse

An official Path Through History site! The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse contains historic structures, an original observation tower, educational displays, tours and a gift shop. The second floor of the lighthouse is a full-service, 3-bedroom suite that can be rented. Prior to the establishment of the lighthouse, at least four ships had sunk near Thirty Mile Point, including one belonging to the French explorer LaSalle in 1678. In 1872, the Lighthouse Board recommended “that a lake-coast light be established near the point where the boundary line between Niagara and Orleans Counties intersects the south shore of Lake Ontario.” This point, the northernmost point on Lake Ontario’s southern shore, was designated on some maps as Thirty Mile Point, being thirty miles from the mouth of the Niagara River. Construction began on April 28. 1875 and was completed in January of 1876. The two-story, seven-room dwelling and attached seventy-foot-tall, square tower were built in a High Victorian Gothic style using natural faced limestone blocks. Starting in 2001, the second story of the dwelling has been rented for week-long stays in the summer or shorter visits during the rest of the year. Today’s lighthouse residents are not asked to mind the light or perform other tasks required of the lighthouse keepers, but they do get a small glimpse into what life was like for a keeper along this isolated stretch of Lake Ontario.