Ohio Lights - Northwood

Northwood lighthouse, Northwood, OH. 10/4/2025 dwm

 The Northwood lighthouse is the third and last light you'll find on Grand Lake St. Marys but it has a story and history that separates it from its sister lights, Behm and Celina.

 According to Lighthouse Friends, the Northwood light was built earlier than it's followers, constructed in 1923 by Bill Jasperson.

 It was also referred to as Eddystone, because Jasperson designed it as a tribute to the original Eddystone Lighthouse in the English Channel. Jasperson's version was 2/3 scale at 50-feet tall.

The light stands on private land. 10/4/25 dwm

He also hoped the light would be a calling card and attraction for the housing development he was building on the north side of Grand Lake. 100 years later, the homes along Northwood Drive still are well-cared for and appear to still be luxurious homes.

The first Eddystone light was built in 1698. The fifth version of the Eddystone lighthouse was built on the same rock in 1882 and continues to serve as an aid to navigation.

Jasperson bought a Fresnel lens from a lighthouse in Cuba, to operate the light under a license from the government that certified the Northwood Lighthouse as an aid to navigation from April through November. The light is no longer active, but that's quite a history for a light on a man-made 13,000 acre light that is no deeper than seven-feet. 

 

Grand Lake is behind the Northwood Lighthouse. 10/4/2025 dwm