OGDENSBURG (AP) -- A 178-year-old lighthouse in northern New York is ready to guide maritime traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway now that the shipping season has started.
The 70-foot-tall lighthouse on the Roethel family homestead in Ogdensburg was built in 1834 and operated until being decommissioned by the federal government in the early 1960s. The night beacon was reactivated by the U.S. Coast Guard last October but only operated for a month before the seaway shut down for the winter.
With the seaway opening last Thursday, the Roethel family is awaiting Coast Guard approval to resume operating the lighthouse. Once that happens, the beacon will shine until mid-November.
The Watertown Daily Times reportsthat a group from the Michigan-based Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association plans to be in Ogdensburg to watch the beacon getting switched on again.
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