Golden Hill lighthouse celebrating 150th anniversary this Sunday

Photo by Ginny Kropf: The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse will celebrate its 150th anniversary during the annual Christmas at the Lighthouse on Sunday.

BARKER – This year’s Christmas at the Lighthouse will also be a celebration of the 150th year of the Thirty Mile Point lighthouse at Golden Hill State Park.

Scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Sunday, the event is free and open to the public.

There will be a farmers’ market, local vendors, wineries and a basket raffle. A pulled pork sandwich lunch will be available, as well as chili, hot dogs and much more, according to park manager Renee Campbell.

Lock City Sound will provide music and Santa Claus will pay a visit, along with Blinkey, the lighthouse mascot.

Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse was built in 1875 to warn sailors of the rocky shoal and shifting sandbar offshore at what is now Golden Hill State Park. There is evidence of five shipwrecks there, Campbell said. One of the most famous was the British Naval vessel, the Ontario, which sank on Halloween night in 1780.

Golden Hill State Park was acquired by New York state in 1962. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1958 by the U.S. Coast Guard.

In the 1980s, a group of lighthouse enthusiasts formed Friends of Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse to raise money to assist New York state with upkeep of the historic lighthouse and educational projects and tours during the year.

The last project the Friends helped fund was replacing many slate roof shingles and putting a vapor shield in another section. Their donation was almost $10,000 for this project alone, Campbell said.

Mike and Kathy Dreyfus of Medina are two of the local people who support the lighthouse. They joined Friends of the Lighthouse after their daughter was married there. Mike makes magnets, which he sells at the Lighthouse Gift Shop and donates the profits to the Medina Mustang Marching Band.

The Friends meet the second Thursday of the month, April through September, at 7 p.m. at the lighthouse. Anyone is welcome to attend and help with future projects.

Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse and Golden Hill State Park are located at 9691 Lower Lake Rd., Barker.