Name and Location

The Selkirk Lighthouse, also known as the old Salmon River Lighthouse, is located at 826 County Route 5, Selkirk (Pulaski), Richland, Oswego County, New York 13142, USA. Its coordinates are 43°34′26.5″ N, 76°12′07.5″ W.

Construction and History

The lighthouse was built in 1873 at the mouth of the Salmon River (Port Ontario), decommissioned in 1932, then moved upstream to Selkirk in 1933. Today, it serves as a museum and landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places with reference number 79001618.

Architecture and Materials

The lighthouse is a 19th-century American wooden light station with a detached dwelling/tower combination. The keeper's house is a two-story rectangular building made of timber-frame construction, while the octagonal tower stands approximately 30 ft above the base of the house. The lantern room is fitted with metal housing for the lens.

Light and Navigation

The original light characteristic was fixed white from a fifth-order Fresnel lens, with a range of roughly 10 nautical miles. Although it no longer serves active navigation, the lighthouse has a rich maritime heritage.

Accessibility and Visiting

Visitors can access the grounds seasonally from late May to early October on weekends and holidays. Admission is nominal or free-will donation, depending on the season. Guided tours are offered, featuring interpretive panels describing keepers' lives, Fresnel lenses, and local shipwrecks.

Notable Views and Landscape

The lighthouse stands in a wooded riverside parcel overlooking the Salmon River inland channel, just upriver from Lake Ontario. The grounds offer quiet river views, migratory waterfowl sightings during spring and fall, and occasional pleasure craft and fishing boats.

Anecdotes and Folklore

Local folklore tells of winter ice floes, black-fly swarms, and the lonely "night watch" of early keepers. Shipwrecks have occurred off the Salmon River bar, with exhibits recounting the 1895 "Phœnix" wreck. Legend holds that a phantom foghorn song can still be heard on quiet nights by long-time Selkirk residents.

Technical and Operational Details

The lighthouse was originally equipped with a fifth-order Fresnel lens and had a focal plane approximately 40 ft above water level. Today, a modern USCG 28 ft skeleton tower stands at the Salmon River mouth.

Further Information

For more information, refer to National Register nomination form "Salmon River Lighthouse" (1979), Salmon River Historical Society brochure (2018 edition), and Anderson's book "Great Lakes Lighthouses of America" (2002).