Accessibility: 
Geographic coordinates (north light): 44° 27' 04" N 73° 16' 36" W
Nearest town: Burlington. Located on the approach to Burlington Harbor, Lake Champlain.
Established: 1826. Present lighthouse built: 1846. Deactivated: 1954.
Height of tower: 30 feet. Height of focal plane: 93 feet.
Previous optic: Fourth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: none.
Aside from crude early lanterns, Juniper Island Light was the first lighthouse built on Lake Champlain. The original 30-foot brick tower, built in 1826, was replaced by the extant cast-iron tower in 1846. A new stone dwelling was built in 1863. The station also had an automatic fog bell that sounded every 15 seconds.
For some time, Juniper Island also served as a depot for the Lighthouse Service on Lake Champlain. Coal, buoys, oil, and other supplies were stored on the island.
In 1954, the light was replaced by an automatic light on a steel skeleton tower. The island was sold at auction to Fred Fayette, a lawyer and state senator, in 1956. A fire started by careless campers destroyed the keeper’s house in 1962. Fayette’s eleven children inherited the island after his death.
Fascinating Fact 
This is the oldest standing cast-iron lighthouse in the United States.
In the fall of 2001, work began on the reconstruction of the keeper’s house. The bricks salvaged from the ruins of the old house were used to build the new one. Much of the work was done by volunteer labor, chiefly the Fayette family and their friends. Professionals were utilized for some aspects of the job, and the Coast Guard helped with the transportation of materials.
The island is not open to the public. It’s difficult to see the lighthouse from shore or from the water because of the tall trees that surround it. You can get a partial view from sightseeing cruises aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III (802-862-8300, www.soea.com), leaving from the Burlington Boathouse, next to Waterfront Park. If you take the cruise in the spring (they begin in mid-May), before the trees get too full, you have a better chance of seeing the lighthouse.
