Rock Island Light Station
Why it's listed
Rock Island Light Station occupies a four-acre rock outcropping in the St. Lawrence River near Fishers Landing, Jefferson County. The complex has six buildings: a lighthouse, keeper's house, and carpenter's shop from 1882, a generator house from about 1900, a boat house from about 1920, and a fieldstone smokehouse that appears to date from 1847. The forty-foot limestone and plaster tower, reached by a masonry pier, carried a sixth order fixed white light. The keeper's house is a two and a half-story Shingle style frame building with a limestone foundation. The station is significant because it is the only complete lighthouse complex surviving on the St. Lawrence River in northern New York. Of the six federal lights known as the "St. Lawrence String," only this one keeps its tower and support buildings. Together they show how a keeper and family lived at an isolated, self-sufficient post, and the State of New York maintains it as an example of that kind of facility.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues that it is the only surviving complete lighthouse complex on the St. Lawrence River in northern New York. Of the six lights of the "St. Lawrence String," only Rock Island retains both its tower and its auxiliary structures. It shows the self-contained life-support functions of an isolated island light station and represents river maritime life of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 78001855, listed November 14, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | N of Fishers Landing on Rock Island, Fishers Landing |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | November 14, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78001855 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Architectural style | Shingle style (keeper's house) |
| Areas of significance | Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Removed from active service; maintained by the State of New York as an example of a self-sufficient light station. Condition listed as good. The light and its Fresnel intensifiers were removed in the 1940s. |
| Acreage | 4 |
| Coordinates | 44.28050, -76.01711 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 78001855.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7354512
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.