Bicentennial Snapshot # 08 – Charlotte – Genesee Lighthouse

How did the Charlotte – Genesee Lighthouse become a part of the Town’s History and part of the Town’s Seal? The following topics give you more background on the Lighthouse. Not all this information is in the video but here is some additional reading that you can read about the Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse

The Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse, the oldest active lighthouse on Lake Ontario, is also marking its bicentennial this year as well as the Town of Greece. We trace its history from its construction in 1822 on land deeded from the Hincher family to the abandonment of the tower and the removal of the light to the west pier, to its restoration as an active lighthouse again in 2014.

The Connection to the Hinchers

Hincher’s Hut hand-drawn by Ed Spelman, 1972

In November 1794, Hincher purchased 627 acres of land in what is now Charlotte, using Continental currency. When the scrip was deemed to be of no value, he was forced to pay for the land a second time. It turned out to be an important purchase. William Hincher died in 1817 at the age of 75. The Charlotte Lighthouse was constructed on part of their property, deeded to the government in 1821 by his widow, Mehitable.  She died in 1839 at the age of 94. For more on the Hinchers, Check out the post on the Hinchers. Bicentennial Snapshot # 3: The Hinchers

Photo of the Charlotte – Genesee Lighthouse
Bill Sauers

The Creation of the first 6 ports in New York noticed that Buffalo and Genesee are not among these first six ports

The following information about the creation of the ports for New York and Genesee can be found at https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsllink.html

The Creation of the United States Port of entry, the Roles of the ports, and the duties of the Port Collections officers were established during the 5th Congress, and the 3rd Session, December 3, 1798 – March 3, 1799. Chapter 22 Section 5 of the 3rd Session of the 5th Congress establishes the ports in New York and the districts they encompass it starts at the bottom of https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=001/llsl001.db&recNum=753 and continues to the next page https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=001/llsl001.db&recNum=754:

Districts and Ports In New York. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That in the state of New York, there shall be six districts, to wit: Sagg Harbor on Nassau or Long Island, the city of New York, the city of Hudson, Champlain, Oswego, and Niagara.

  • The district of Sagg Harbor shall include all the bays, harbors, rivers, and shores, within the two points of land which are called Oyster Pond point, and Mantauck point; and a collector for the district shall be appointed, to reside at Sagg Harbor, which shall be the only port of entry and delivery in the said district.
  • The district of the city of New York shall include all such part of the coasts, rivers, bays, and harbors of the said state as are not included in, other districts of the said state, especial]y the several towns or landing places of New Windsor, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Esopus, Kinderhook, and Albany, as ports of delivery only; and a co]lector, naval officer, and surveyor for the district shall be appointed, to reside at New York, which shall be the sole port of entry for the district; and a surveyor, at the city of Albany; and the President of the United States is authorized, if he judge it expedient, to appoint one other surveyor, to reside at such other place in the said district as he shall appoint.
  • The district of Hudson shall include all the waters and shores of the aid city; and a collector shall be appointed for the said district, the side at the said city of Hudson, which sha]l be the sole port of entry and delivery.
  • The district of Champlain shall include all such shores and waters of Lake Champlain, and the rivers connected therewith, as lie within the aid state of New York; and the said district shall extend westwardly along the northern boundary line of the said state, unto the place where aid line is bounded by the river St. Lawrence; and the President of the United States is hereby authorized to appoint such place within the said district to be a port of entry and delivery, as he shall judge expedient; and a collector shall be appointed, to reside at the port of entry which may be established within the said district; and the President is also, authorized, if he shall judge proper, to appoint, not exceeding two surveyors, to reside at such places as he may judge expedient to constitute ports of delivery only.
  • The district of Oswego shall include all the shores and waters of the river St. Lawrence, from the place where said river is intersected by the forty-fifth degree of northern latitude, and all the shores and waters of Lake Ontario, and the rivers and waters connected therewith, Iying within the jurisdiction of the United States, and within the state of New York, to the eastward of the west bank of Genesee river; and a collector shall be appointed, who shall reside at or near Oswego, at such place as the President of the United States shall appoint to be the port of entry or the district; and the President of the United States is authorized to appoint not exceeding three surveyors, to reside at such places within the said district, as he shall judge proper, and to constitute each or either of such places to be ports of delivery only.
  • The district of Niagara shall include all the shores and waters of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the rivers connected therewith, lying within the jurisdiction of the United States, and within the state of New York,
    to the westward of the west bank of Genesee River; and a collector shall be appointed who shall reside at Niagara, which shall be the sole port of entry for the district; and the President of the United States is authorized to appoint, not exceeding two surveyors, to reside at such paces within the said district, as he shall judge proper, and to constitute each or either of such places to be the ports of delivery only.

With the country, just under 30 years of formation, no port districts were officially established on the Lake Ontario shoreline from Fort Niagara in Youngstown, New York to the eastern side of Sodus Bay. On March 3, 1803, in the publication, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 – 1875 in Statutes at Large, 7th Congress and under President Thomas Jefferson the government established a federal port district on Lake Ontario. You can read the exact text of this establishment do so here https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=002/llsl002.db&recNum=265 and it continues on this page https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=002/llsl002.db&recNum=266

Second Session of the Eighth Congress That three new Port Districts were created 2 in New York and Port of Miami

It was not until the Eighth Congress, the second session (November 5, 1804 – March 3, 1805) when the port for Genessee River and Buffaloe, noticed how Genessee and Buffalo were written during the 8th session of Congress on March 3 of 1805, here is the entry for the text in the table of contents Districts of Gennessee, Buffaloe Creek, Miami, Erie Act to establish the districts of Gennessee, of Buffaloe Creek, and of Miami this Miami is not the port in Flordia but one on Lake Erie; and to alter port of entry to the district of Erie March 3, 1805. The text Eighth session of Chapter 34 reads:

Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse
Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse from the Rochester Public Library Historical Division

Section 1: Be it enacted by the Senate and House Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the thirty-first day of March next, all the shores and waters of the Lake Ontario, and the rivers and waters connected therewith, lying within the jurisdiction of the United States, and within the state of New York, to the westward of the western extremity of Sodus bay, but excluding all the rivers and waters emptying into the said bay, and to the eastward of the eastern extremity of a certain creek or bay, lying between Niagara and the Gennessee river, and known by the name of Oak Orchard creek, shall be a district, to be called the district of Gennessee, of which the river Gennessee shall be the sole port of entry; and a collector for said district shall be appointed, to reside on the river Gennessee.

Section 2. And be it further enacted, That all the shores, rivers and waters heretofore belonging to the district of Niagara, which empty into Lake Erie. or into the river Niagara, above the falls of Niagara, shall, from and after the thirty-first day of March next, to be called the district of Buffaloe Creek, of which Buffaloe Creek shall be the sole port of entry; and a collector for the said district shall be appointed, to reside on Buffaloe Creek.

In 1821 it is written in the Statutes at Large that there was a deading of land to the United States for a lighthouse to be built at the mouth of the Genesee River. Mehitable Hincher deeded the U. S government the property on which to build a lighthouse. The arrow points to the Hincher property. The entrance to the Genesee River was difficult to navigate as it was clogged with reeds and obstructed by sandbars. Lake Ontario extended farther south than it is today and as you can see from this map, the shore waters were marshy.  The site on a bluff overlooking the river was chosen because of its height.

Improvements to the Pier

For the pier improvements we mention in the snapshot we found the entry in Statutes at Large. They approved and documented here A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 – 1875 and it is in the Statutes at Large, 20th Congress, 2nd Session, March 2, 1829, and here you will find the that it cost ten thousand dollars in today cost would be $312,504.35 for navigational improvements on the Genesee to help ships enter the ports and leave the port there to head off to other ports along Lake Ontario. see the link here for the text from the session https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=004/llsl004.db&recNum=394.

The work Completed was documented in Statutes at Large, 23rd Congress, 1st Session on June 28, 1834, and for the completion, it cost additional twenty thousand dollars that were paid out, and today that cost would be $668,613.95 based on inflation for the work that would have been done between 1829 and 1834 at the Port of Genesee. here is the link to the information on the cost of completion of the upgrades https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=004/llsl004.db&recNum=750.

In 1881, the light was turned off in the tower and in 1884 was moved to the lighthouse on the edge of the west pier.

On January 1, 1916, the City of Rochester, mostly to gain control of the port, annexed the village of Charlotte from the Town of Greece.

Seal of Town of Greece

The Seal of the Town of Greece features the lighthouse from Charlotte as part of the Town’s Past

Original Town Seal
Original Town Seal or sketch we are not sure about this image
1954 Town Seal on the Town Flag
1954 Town Seal on the Town Flag and Original Town Seal
Most Recent Seal of the Town of Greece
1954 Flag

It was not till 1954 that the official flag was adopted by the Town of Greece.

How the Lighthouse was lit?

Q: Did you know that the Charlotte-Genesee lighthouse was lit by whale oil?
A: It originally had 10 whale oil Argand lamps, which were replaced with a Fresnel lens in 1853.

ARGAND’S LAMP

In 1782, François-Pierre Ami Argand (1750-1803), a Swiss-born physicist living in France, invented the double draft burner, which became known as the Argand oil lamp. Argand’s design used two thin metal tubes with one set inside the other. The wick was placed between these tubes and was thus formed into a long hollow cylinder. Air was allowed to enter the center of the wick through holes placed in the oil drip-cup attached to the bottom of the wick tubes. Air was also allowed to enter around the outside of the outer wick tube, through holes in the bottom of the chimney holder. Argand’s design provided much more oxygen to the flame, more efficient fuel combustion, and a much brighter light. Argand also invented the use of a chimney, which helped to provide additional airflow over the wick and protected the flame from outside air currents, which could make it flicker.

In 1787, another Frenchman, Monsieur Lange, invented the constricted chimney, which Argand quickly added to his design. The constricted chimney forced the outside air closer to the flame. This action further improved the combustion of the fuel, giving a still brighter flame, which was measured at about 7 candlepower.

Source: United States Lighthouse Society https://uslhs.org/lighthouse-lamps-through-time#:~:text=Argand’s%20Lamp&text=Argand’s%20design%20used%20two%20thin,bottom%20of%20the%20wick%20tubes.

(Drawing by Author from a Lighthouse Board Drawing) A typical Argand Lamp Burner. (1782)

Installation of the New Lighthouse

After being neglected for almost a hundred years the Charlotte Genesee Lighthouse Society rescued the old tower and restored it to the point where the tower was reactivated as a working lighthouse in November 2014 and now appears on all Coast Guard charts and maps. The light can now be seen over 12 miles into the lake. A Fresnel lens, or a replica of vintage lighthouse lenses that shine strong beams of light over far distances, was sponsored by an anonymous donor to the tune of $34,000 and assembled by professionals in Florida. The entire project, including the lens, cost around $189,000, Salter said. From the Democrat & Chronicle News article September 25, 2014. https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/09/25/charlotte-genesee-lighthouse-lantern/16205255/


The Greece Historical Society presents these weekly Bicentennial Snapshots to mark the 200th Anniversary of the founding of the Town of Greece. Each week we feature a particular aspect of Greece, New York history. Each Bicentennial story will be unique in nature and over the course of the 52 episodes, you will learn about the people and events that comprise the vibrant history of Greece from its earliest days to the present.

Each story is researched, written, and narrated by retired librarian and local historian Maureen Whalen; she has a unique style of storytelling that makes each Bicentennial Snapshot come alive and easy for everyone to understand.

The mission of the Greece Historical Society is to discover, research, and preserve the history of the Town of Greece and to share that history with its residents and the local community through public programs, publications, museum exhibits, and accessibility to its archives and artifacts.

If you are interested in learning more about the History of the Town of Greece history then pick up a copy of Eight Miles Along the Shore or any of the other publications in our online gift shop. There may be a few other books about the Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse available at the Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse in their gift shop also consider donating to help them celebrate their bicentennial as well.

Eight Miles Along the Shore
Eight Miles Along the Shore By Virginia Tomkiewicz and Shirley Cox Husted
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