Vermilion Light on Lake Erie continues a lighthouse tradition at the mouth of the Vermilion River that began in 1847 with a wooden tower funded by Congress. Rebuilt in 1859 and replaced in 1877 by a 34-foot iron lighthouse cast from recycled Columbian cannons, the light evolved from whale oil to acetylene before that leaning tower was removed in 1929. The old iron structure was restored and reinstalled in 1935 as the East Charity Shoal Light on the Saint Lawrence Seaway. After a local fundraising campaign, a 34-foot replica was erected in 1991 and dedicated in 1992, linking Vermilion’s waterfront to its long harbor history.