Lighthouse open Saturday for tours

The Sherman Memorial Lighthouse was built by Jack Sherman and has become a tourist destination in northwestern Pennsylvania. Privately owned by the Sherman family, the lighthouse is open to the public during the designated visiting days under the guidance of the Tionesta Lions Club.

Admission will cost $5 for adults and $2 for children ages 13 to 18. Children age 12 and younger will be admitted free of charge.

Climbing the spiral staircase, participants will witness the heirlooms of the Sherman family along with lighthouse memorabilia. The towering 75-foot-tall creation gives a scenic view of the Allegheny River, one of the two federally designated National Wild and Scenic Recreation Rivers of the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors region.

With the completion of the lighthouse in 2003, Tionesta gained a landmark that distinguishes it on the northwestern Pennsylvania landscape. Though it serves as a distinctive landmark, the Sherman Memorial Lighthouse is not a public facility. The Tionesta Lions Club has raised funds for community projects by offering self-guided tours of the lighthouse.

The 47-foot-high tower is based around eight glue-laminated columns and Insulspan Wall Panels making the Sherman lighthouse a one-of-a-kind design in the world of lighthouses. The star on the top of the lantern rooms is 100 feet above the island’s surface.

The tower foundation is octagon-shaped, solid reinforced concrete, 2 feet thick and 18 feet in diameter. There is a basement within the foundation walls. The exterior of the foundation is faced with river rock and the lighthouse is clad in vinyl siding.

The interior of the lighthouse is replete with inlaid hardwood floors and natural finish on laminated timber columns.

The lighthouse is located on Lighthouse Island along the Allegheny River at Tionesta. Directional signs are posted to help visitors find the site.

Information about private tours is available by contacting Jim McGuire at (814) 755-3672 or jrmcguire@verizon.net.