Lake Havasu Arizona – The 24 Lighthouse Replicas on the Lake

Lake Havasu currently claims the title of “the city with most lighthouses in America,” and thanks to the Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club, Arizona someday could surpass Michigan as the state with the most lighthouses. Arizona? Really? In the middle of the desert is not a place you would think of when you think of lighthouses.  However, if you have been to Lake Havasu you may have seen the 24 replica of famous lighthouses from the East Coast, West Coast and the Great Lakes area.

I have been there a few times, but on a trip in October of 2014 we made a point of checking out some of these  1/3 scale replicas. They are intriguing, thus I decided to do a little research and learn a little bit about the originals.

1. Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras is on the cape on the coast of North Carolina and is protected as the namesake feature of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The first lighthouse at the cape was built in 1803; it was replaced by the current Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1870. At 198.48 feet from the ground to the tip of its lightning rod, it is the tallest lighthouse in the United States and one of the tallest brick lighthouses in the world.

2. Table Bluff

Table Bluff  Is located on Table Bluff just south of Humboldt Bay. Built to guide vessels away from the notoriously dangerous and rough California coastline, and to let them know the proximity of the nearby bay and entrance, the lighthouse was one of the first to be automated. The lighthouse tower portion is now located at the Woodley Island Marina within the City of Eureka.

3. East Quoddy

The Head Harbour/East Quoddy lighthouse sits at the northern tip of Campobello Island in Canada at the end of a small island chain. At low tide, visitors may hike down a set of stairs, and walk on an exposed part of the ocean floor, to the first island. From the first island, they must then walk down the second set of stairs to reach a second island where the lighthouse is located. It was constructed in 1829 and painted with the Cross of St. George. I found it very interesting and took quite a few pictures of this lighthouse from different angles.

4. West Quoddy

Located in Maine, the West Quoddy Head overlooks Quoddy Narrows, a strait between Canada and the United States. Since 1808, there has been a lighthouse there to guide ships through the waterway. The current one, with distinctive red-and-white stripes, was built in 1858. Photographs and paintings of this lighthouse are frequently reproduced. I find this easy to believe as I was also intrigued by this beautiful lighthouse.

5. Robert R. Manning

This lighthouse is located at the harbor entrance to Empire. Michigan. The light was dedicated to an avid local fisherman and life-long resident of Empire, Robert Manning. He often remarked that a light was needed to guide fishermen in from Lake Michigan after evening fishing trips.

6. Vermilion

Erected on October 23, 1991, and dedicated on 6 June 1992, this lighthouse is situated on the grounds of the Inland Seas Maritime Museum near the mouth of the Vermilion River in Ohio. This is actually the second lighthouse in this location and it is a replica of the previous Vermilion Lighthouse that had been completed in 1877.

7. Split Rock 

Located southwest of Silver Bay, Minnesota, in the USA on the North Shore of Lake Superior, this lighthouse is considered one of the most picturesque lighthouses in the United States. It was one of five lighthouses chosen for the “Lighthouses of the Great Lakes” series, and the United States Postal Service issued a stamp that featured the light on June 17, 1995

8. Dunkrik Light – AKA Point Gratoit

Established in 1826, this is an active lighthouse located at Point Gratiot on Lake Erie in New York  The foundation is made out of dressed stone and the lighthouse is made out of rubblestone encased in brick. The upper two-thirds are painted white and the lower one-third is natural, with the lantern housing being red.

9. Alpena

Named Alpena, this lighthouse on Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan stands on the north breakwater of Alpena Harbor. The light marks the entrance to the Thunder Bay River Thunder Bay. The current lighthouse, built-in 1914, replaced earlier wooden structures which had been in use since 1877 and 1888.

10. Wind Point

Located at the north end of Racine Harbor in the state of Wisconsin,  this lighthouse is in the village of Wind Point, Wisconsin. A signal house (horns removed, resonators still in place) remains on the grounds as well as a garage, two storage buildings, and an oil house. I found that very interesting. Hopefully, I will get to see it someday.

11. Chicago Harbor/Navy Pier

Standing at the end of the northern breakwater protecting the Chicago Harbor, to the east of Navy Pier and the mouth of the Chicago River, this is still an active and automated lighthouse. It was constructed in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition and moved to its present site in 1919.I  have actually seen this one while walking along the Navy Pier in Chicago, and it is amazing. I would love to go explore it when we have more time. Maybe on a future trip.

12. White Shoals

Located 20 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge in Lake Michigan, it is an active aid to navigation. I really want to see this and the Mackinac Bridge, so I will make it to this one someday. The White Shoal Light was the culmination of a forty-year effort—between 1870 and 1910—where engineers began to build lights on isolated islands, reefs, and shoals that were significant navigational hazards.

13. Algoma

First established in 1893 as a set of orange lights, this lighthouse is located near Algoma in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. In 1907, with the keeper’s accommodations still unbuilt, the wooden tower was in a significant state of distress and the decision was made to replace the tower and it was rebuilt in 1908.

14. Lake Havasu Marina

It is located at the Lake Havasu Marina entrance and is a valuable aid to navigating Lake Havasu. The light is operational and is 17′ tall. The lighthouse itself is a white conical tower with two red bands. Nice way to be welcomed to the harbor!

15. Main Buffalo

Located at the mouth of the Buffalo River/Erie canal, directly across from the Erie basin marina and underneath the skyway in downtown Buffalo, New York, is the location of this lighthouse. The lighthouse was established and lit in 1833, deactivated in 1914, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

16. Currituck Beach

On the Outer Banks in Corolla, North Carolina, is an example of Gothic Revival architecture in the Currituck Beach Light. As such, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1973. Another note of interest, this lighthouse was not painted, leaving its brick facade visible

17. Fire Island

On the Great South Bay, in southern Suffolk County, New York on the western end of Fire Island is Firs House Island Lighthouse. It is listed as Fire Island Light, number 695, in the USCG light lists and celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2008. The lighthouse can be accessed by a short walk from Robert Moses State Park.

18. Mount Desert Rock

This lighthouse is located on a small island about 18 nautical miles south of Mount Desert Island, in Maine. The light station was established in 1830; the current lighthouse was built in 1847. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Mount Desert Light Station in 198

19. Umpqua River

The Oregon Coast of the United States is the location of the Umpqua River Light. The first Umpqua River Light was built in 1855 and lit in 1857. However, the original light was vulnerable to seasonal flooding and collapsed in 1863. It was 1888 before Congress approved the construction of a new light. The new one was completed and was first lit in 1894. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

20. Portland Head

This historic lighthouse is in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It was completed in 1791 and is the oldest lighthouse in the state of Maine. Interestingly enough, the light station is automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are maintained by the United States Coast Guard.

21. Grays Harbor

This lighthouse is located on Point Chehalis on the southern side of the entrance to Grays Harbor in Washington. At 107 feet tall, it is the tallest lighthouse in Washington and the third tallest on the West Coast.  Built in 1897, the base of the lighthouse rests on a 12-foot-thick foundation of sandstone. The lighthouse walls, which are four feet thick at the base, are made of brick with a coating of cement on the exterior.

22. Barnegat

Known as “Old Barney” this historic lighthouse is located in Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern tip of Long Beach Island in New Jersey,  It was commissioned on January 1, 1859, and deactivated as a Coast Guard lookout tower in January 1944. However, the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Barnegat Lighthouse in 1971.

23. Berwick

Built in the 19th century this lighthouse guides shipping to the entrance to the River Tweed and Berwick Harbour in Louisanna.   It was built in 1858 and was lighted for the first time on Sept. 1, 1859. Uniquely shaped like a square pyramid, it is sheathed in iron with a 28-foot base and stands 37 feet in height

24. Sandy Hook

Inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. Designed and built on June 11, 1764, it stood only 500 feet from the tip of Sandy Hook; however, today, due to growth caused by littoral drift, it is almost one and a half miles inland from the tip. Almost two years after the State of New York ratified the U.S. Constitution, the lighthouse was transferred to federal authority and is now located on the grounds of Fort Hancock.

Hope you enjoyed these 24 lighthouse replicas located on Lake Havasu in Arizona.  A huge thank you to the Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau for the use of the lighthouse photos.