Automation and Obsolescence
During the years the South Bass Island lighthouse operated the technology associated with navigational systems advanced greatly. In 1962, as lighthouse keeper Prochnow neared retirement, the U.S. Coast Guard decided to automate the lighthouse. A steel tower with an electronic light was built on the property.

The Ohio State University Acquires the Lighthouse
Lighthouse ownership was transferred from the Coast Guard to the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's Division of Surplus Property in 1967. Noting the many research advantages of the site and its close proximity to The Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory (on Gibraltar Island), the University Trustees agreed that Ohio State would accept care of the property. In October 1967, the property was transferred to Ohio State by a 30-year Quit Claim Deed. The deed ended in 1997 when permanent ownership was transferred to the university (the Coast Guard maintains ownership of the tower).

In 1983 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration installed a $50,000 meteorological station enabling satellite transmission of weather statistics to the National Weather Service.

Public Access And Preservation
Although the lighthouse grounds are not open to the public, it is visible while approaching the island by ferry or boat and the University does host an annual open house. The lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 5, 1990.

For more information on the light you may contact:
Ohio Sea Grant College Program, F.T. Stone Laboratory
1314 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212
614.292.8949 or Fax 614.292.4364