Title:

The Lighthouse Service

Description:

Established in 1789, the U.S. Lighthouse Service maintained lighthouses and a district headquarters in Buffalo until it was absorbed by the Coast Guard in 1939. Tenth District, long under the command of district lighthouse superintendent Roscoe House, ran a depot and lens-repair shop in Buffalo, serving Lake Erie and Lake Ontario lighthouses. The district also tested diaphone foghorns at the Buffalo station, and one of the first radiobeacons on the Great Lakes was installed at the Buffalo breakwater light station in 1925. Service work was continued by the Coast Guard, and in the 1950's the Buffalo base was the agency's foghorn repair center.

The lighthouse service tenders Crocus and Sundew were familiar sights in Buffalo harbor early in the century, and the district also maintained a series of Buffalo lightships about 13 miles off Buffalo harbor until construction of thePoint Abino light by Canada in 1917.

Erected by:

Buffalo Lighthouse Association.

Location:

Buffalo Coast Guard Base.