The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Visitor numbers rise for museum
Tourist numbers up for Fairport Harbor Marine Museum and Lighthouse
The Fairport Harbor Marine Museum and Lighthouse welcomed more visitors and conducted more tours in 2019 compared to the previous year.
Those were a few of the points highlighted in the Fairport Harbor Historical Society’s 2019 annual report.
Society President Mary Alyce Gladding presented that report to the community’s government leaders at a recent Fairport Harbor Village Council meeting.
The society is an all-volunteer organization that operates and maintains the museum, founded in 1945, and the nearly 150-year-old lighthouse, both located at 129 Second St. in the village.
Last year, 3,288 people visited the museum, a slight increase over 2018 attendance of 3,174. Neither figure came close to the highest annual attendance in the past five years, which occurred in 2016 when 6,407 people visited the museum.
The season at the museum runs from Memorial Day through the end of October.
Gladding said the museum’s 2016 attendance was bolstered by the appearance of nine tall ships that visited Fairport that year.
For 2019, the museum’s sign-in log for guests showed the names of visitors from five foreign countries — Russia, Finland, Denmark Canada and Australia. The museum also counted people from 22 different states who stopped by last year.
Also in 2019, the museum conducted 57 private tours, which tied the five-year high for similar events in 2016. During 2018, 55 tours were given.
While the historical society currently has a roster of 202 members, only about 20 of them are active in the organization, Gladding said.
Those people who do volunteer for the society play a pivotal role in running the museum, Gladding noted.
She said the total time devoted by the society’s 16 committees is about 1,600 hours per year. Volunteers also put in around 180 hours annually on days that the Marine Museum and Lighthouse is open for special events and 181 hours a year in leading tours at the site.
Keeping the lighthouse and museum in good condition also is a high priority for the organization. Gladding said the society spent $39,000 in 2019 on projects that included sandblasting and painting the museum’s oil house; lead paint removal in the lighthouse; removal and replacement of bricks inside the lighthouse tower; and sealing and painting lighthouse walls.
As Gladding concluded her presentation at the Feb. 4 council meeting, she mentioned that people often ask her why the Fairport Harbor Marine Museum and Lighthouse charges admission.
“We have to pay our bills and that’s why we charge,” Gladding said. “The village is unable to help us anymore. Years ago, they used to pay all of our utilities, but now they’re not able to help us, so we pay all utilities.”
She also recalled that Lake County commissioners, at one time, provided the society with $3,000 a year in funding.
“They don’t do that anymore, either,” Gladding said.
Last year, 3,288 people visited the museum, a slight increase over 2018 attendance of 3,174. Neither figure came close to the highest annual attendance in the past five years, which occurred in 2016 when 6,407 people visited the museum.