by Christine Lorraine Morgan ~ April 9, 2022

“It is said that Manitou, the Great Spirit, led his favorite children, The Erie Tribe, to the shores of this great inland sea where they fished its waters, hunted, and tilled the fields.

“As the Eries ventured into the lake to find the place where the sun sank into the water, the spirits of the lake, angered at their boldness, caused a great storm to rise.

“The Great Spirit, hearing the Eries’ cries for help, stretched out his great left arm into the lake to protect his favorite children from the crashing waves. Behind this sheltering arm, the Eries paddled their canoes to safety.

“Where the arm of the Great Spirit had lain in the lake, a great sand bar in the shape of an arm was formed to act for all ages as a shelter and harbor for the Great Spirit’s favorite children, the Eries.”

~~ Transcription from historic marker near the land lighthouse at the foot of Lighthouse Street in Erie, PA