Picnics on Green Island, located just west of South Bass Island, could include a climb to the top of the island's lighthouse and photographs to record the feat. A lighthouse was first erected on Green Island in 1854. On New Year's Eve 1864, the second story of the keeper's house caught fire. The entire structure was a loss. This square-towered, limestone lighthouse and attached, two-story keeper's house were constructed in July 1865. Although abandoned in 1926, it survived for nearly a century. In the 1960s, it met a similar fate as the first. The gutted limestone shell lies hidden in the island trees and bushes. Today, Green Island is owned by the state of Ohio and is used as a bird sanctuary. Unlike the Cooke family, today's visitors must secure permission from the state to roam the island.