Camping at East Harbor State Park on the edge of Lake Erie was a good base for day trips around the area, today was to Marblehead Lighthouse. The discolorization on the lighthouse itself is due to an ongoing painting of the exterior.

Marblehead Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes, has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822. In 1819, the fifteenth U.S. Congress recognized the need for navigational aides along the Great Lakes, and set aside $5,000 for construction of a light tower at the entrance to Sandusky Bay. Contractor William Kelly built the 50-foot tower of native limestone on the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula. The base of the tower is 25 feet in diameter, with walls five feet thick. It narrows to twelve feet at the top with two-foot thick walls.