Barcelona Lighthouse — Attraction in Town of Westfield

Barcelona (Portland Harbor) Lighthouse GPS: 42.340988,-79.595238 Shared from Michigan and Great Lakes Lighthouses group.

In 1828, Congress appropriated $5000 to build a lighthouse at Portland Harbor, an official port of entry. Portland was a small town between Dunkirk, NY and Erie, PA and would later be called Barcelona. A lot on a bluff overlooking the harbor was used to build a lighthouse. Using native, rough-split, fieldstone, a 40-foot conical tower with a base diameter of 22 feet was built. The outer ends of the wood spiral staircase were embedded in the tower’s masonry, while a massive timber standing at the center of the tower supported the inner ends. A keeper’s house was built of the same materials and look. The lighthouse and house were given a double coat of whitewash. On January 1, 1831, Thomas Campbell signed a contract with the Collector of Customs and Lighthouse Inspector at Buffalo to provide Barcelona Lighthouse with natural gas “at all times and seasons” and “to keep the apparatus and fixtures in repair” at an annual cost of $213. The resulting illumination by natural gas of the first public building in the United States. To capture the gas, workers dug into the rock where the gas was to create a well 3 feet deep and 40 feet in diameter. A cap was built over this well and the gas was transported through hollow wood pipes to the lighthouse. The Lighthouse board noted in their annual report in 1855 that Barcelona did not possess a proper harbor, and that its lighthouse was not necessary. This was caused by a powerful storm that destroyed much of the waterfront warehouses and piers in 1844. Rebuilding the area was not done because of a railroad track that was built in 1852 removing the need for lake transportation. Even though deemed unnecessary a 4th order lens was installed in 1957 in the lighthouse. Two years later in 1859 the light was extinguished. In the original deed if the light was discontinued the land reverted back to the Holland Land Co. The Lieutenant Governor George W. Patterson, was an agent for the company, and in 1872 he paid $500 to the government for the structures on the property. In the 1880s, the original keeper’s house was enlarged and dormers were added. The original lantern room was likely removed when the tower was discontinued. An open wooden lantern, which ties in nicely with the adjacent dwelling, was later placed atop the tower. On the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the lighthouse in 1929, the Patterson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze tablet above the door to the lighthouse. In 1941, the property was leased to the Bedford Products Company of Dunkirk, who opened the dwelling as a wayside refreshment stand where visitors could purchase light lunches featuring their jams, jellies, and juices. The tower had also been renovated so tourists could climb the stairway for a view of the harbor. On April 10, 1962, a day that had been designated National Gaslight Day, Barcelona Lighthouse was re-supplied with natural gas due to its past significance. Though a light is still maintained in the tower, it is not considered an aid to navigation. The tower and dwelling were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 1998 the lighthouse left the Patterson family and was purchased by a couple from New York. In 2008, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation...

Barcelona, so I've heard, is lovely this time of year. Lacking means or very much confidence, I was happy to find on my tour the next best thing: a lighthouse with something to prove and nothing to lose. Though my Agent urged me to rush to my next sold out venue, I decided to tarry here and ponder the meaning of life.

It was cloudy, a happy coincidence given my state of mind. To be real, dear reader, I've been doubting this path of mine, and not only because it appears my Agent lied about my train schedule or that the schedule was yet another secret code meant to be communicated rather than depended upon, but because I'm beginning to think that's exactly what my feelings are.

But what is a hapless narrator to do? I could only salvage the crusts of yesterday's sandwich before the gulls got to them (and they did) while watching an elderly couple perform a routine of walking briskly next to the water. So many people walked so briskly that I could hardly catch my breath watching them from my vantage point of lying on the ground, and wherefore? Perhaps out of the rain, perhaps to have something to compare the inside to when they return to it and breathlessly exclaim that it's raining and shake off their parasols and wish for the sun while knowing it is still there whether or not they look directly at it. For some, this is life.

I had the happy chance to catch up with the walleye of the other day who had happily named me Wally, and when I told him how fun I thought that because I called him a walleye, he replied that this was confusing because he calls me walleye as well and we gurgled up a few laughs together. It is good to have friends. He also passed on the following rumination from a dear uncle who has ambitions of interspecies publication, a hope I am afraid I am ill suited to pursue but well-weighed to betray:

Who'll protect you from what you ought to be? Who will warn the tides that they are the sea, That they keep safe life that struggles to be, That they have earned their place through earth's decree? Who will guard the wind as it breaks the sound Of skelter to the clouds that gather 'round To crest and barter sites where they have found Their ways without the form of solid ground? Who will keep your head held high up above The hopes of who you'd be if...

My 77-year-old Mother, sister, and I had a memorable experience climbing the newly refurbished lighthouse on Memorial Day. There is ample parking at the Daniel Reed pier next door. The employees were all fantastic: personable, communicative, outgoing, funny, organized, and informed.

We began by signing the waiver in the keeper’s cottage. They clearly explained the physical requirements and asked each visitor to demonstrate their capability on a small model of the upper-tier ladder. Upon completion, each visitor receives a free ticket to the lighthouse tour.

A guide greeted us at the lighthouse door and explained the structure's history and restoration process. Though the stairs are well lit, they loaned us flashlights. Another employee climbed the stairs with us, offering more insight and verifying that we used the handrail. A third employee helped us climb the ladder to the top platform. They kindly warned us against leaning over the railing and offered to take a group photo.

I highly recommend visiting the Barcelona Lighthouse. We appreciated that everyone there put our safety first. They have exciting plans for developing the waterfront, and I expect to find more to see and do before the bicentennial in 2029. Thanks to everyone involved for a...