Sodus Has a Lighthouse, a Bay, and a Lake Road Memory

Sodus has a place story with lake air in it. The Sodus Bay lighthouse was completed in 1871, replacing an 1824 lighthouse tower and keeper’s residence, and it stayed in use until 1901. Today, the Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum sits in Sodus Point on the south shore of Lake Ontario.

That makes the lighthouse a friendly starting point, but Sodus has more than one route into its past. The museum houses maritime collections about the Sodus Bay region, and the Sodus Bay Historical Society opened its museum doors on July 4, 1985. There is a nice bit of summer-town energy in that date.

The older road story adds another layer. Wallington Cobblestone Tavern was built in 1834 as a tavern and inn near the midpoint between Rochester and Oswego on the Oswego-Lewiston Stage route. So Sodus was tied to movement by land as well as by water.

The lake history has sharper edges too. During the War of 1812, British forces attacked Sodus Point on June 19, 1813, seized warehouse stores, and burned the town, with one tavern spared. That is a hard chapter, but it helps explain why the harbor is more than a pretty view.

Sodus works best when the lighthouse, bay, cobblestone tavern, stage route, and lakefront village stay in the same picture. The lake pulls the story north, while the road memory keeps inland Wayne County close behind it.