Toledo’s unique nautical guide was constructed in 1904, after the Army Corp. of Engineers dredged a channel from Lake Erie into the Maumee Bay, opening Toledo up for deep water freighter traffic.

Accessible by boat, the lighthouse is a three story, Romanesque structure, rising almost 20 feet above the water on a concrete base. Its alternating red and white beams shine for 16 miles. Although automated in 1965, this Toledo treasure remains active today.

The structure, which resembles a gingerbread house, must have looked strangely out of place in the face of the industrial revolution. Although not open to the public, rumors traced back to efforts to prevent vandalism abound in Toledo about this historic structure being haunted. Adding to the mystique, is a fully-uniformed mannequin, sitting in one of the downstairs windows. The mannequin acts as a “scarecrow” to ward off ghosts, and was placed there by the Coast Guard, post-automation of the lighthouse.