The Tionesta Lions Club has announced an expanded Sherman Memorial Lighthouse tour schedule for 2018.
Six tours are planned during the summer and fall seasons.
The self-guided tours will be offered from 1 to 4 p.m. on the following Saturdays: June 9, July 14, Aug. 11, Aug. 18, Sept. 8 and Oct. 13.
Those who take the tour will climb a spiral staircase up six stories to a balcony circling the top. Along the way, people will notice Sherman family memorabilia and lighthouse collectibles.
All six floors and the basement can be accessed by the 76 spiral stairs. 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.
Proceeds will be used to fund the Tionesta Lions’ community projects.
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.
About the lighthouse
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 several 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 pre-manufactured lantern room situated on top of the timber frame tower is made of aluminum and glass and is 12 feet in diameter and 20 feet high with an observation deck with guardrails around the outside.
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.
Each floor of the lighthouse features Sherman family history and memorabilia. The fifth floor of the lighthouse features the construction process of the Sherman Memorial Lighthouse, with photos and construction blueprints.
