{"nrhp_refnum":"79001618","name":"Selkirk Lighthouse","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"W of Pulaski on Lake Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pulaski","county":"Oswego County","state":"NY","lat":43.57455627300004,"lon":-76.20166868899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-03-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story stone lighthouse with a wood and wrought iron octagonal tower, on a rise overlooking the mouth of the Salmon River and Lake Ontario, west of Pulaski in Oswego County, New York. Construction was completed in 1838.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the only remaining historic lighthouse in Oswego County and a significant example of early nineteenth-century lighthouse technology. Its stonework, wood frame tower and wrought iron lantern make it an architectural landmark. It also recalls early maritime development on Lake Ontario and the later use of the site as a resort.","narrative":"Overlooking the mouth of the Salmon River and Lake Ontario west of Pulaski, this two-story stone lighthouse was completed in 1838. A wood and wrought iron octagonal tower rises from the ridge of its gable roof, topped by a copper-domed iron lantern reached by a narrow spiral wooden stair. Inside, walls are lath and plaster and floors are wide pine boards. It was built when land speculators hoped to create a rival port called Port Ontario and persuaded the federal government to fund a pier and lighthouse. An economic depression, the lack of a railroad and silting of the river closed the port and lighthouse in 1839. In the late nineteenth century it became part of a resort, with a bar in the basement and a hotel built nearby in 1899. It later became a summer home and, from 1940, a year-round residence. It is the only remaining historic lighthouse in Oswego County.","period_of_significance":"1838","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied as a private residence; a permanent family residence since 1940, with a 1972-73 kitchen addition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.790676-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/79001618.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001618/85917589f1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001618/85917589f1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Ted Van Pelt","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Selkirk_Lighthouse_New_York_(8142223678).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ted Van Pelt</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Selkirk_Lighthouse_New_York_(8142223678).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320877","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkirk_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7448550"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/oswego-county/selkirk-lighthouse-79001618/"}