The lighthouse was established in 1782 atop the "French Castle", a structure still located within Old Fort Niagara.

The current tower was first lit in 1872, having been removed from the French Castle to allow for more room for officer's quarters.

The original lens was a fourth order Fresnel lens installed in 1859 National Register Status: LISTED; Reference #84002809 Name of Listing: FORT NIAGARA LIGHT (U.S. COAST GUARD/GREAT LAKES TR) Part of Old Fort Niagara National Historic Landmark; First two towers constructed on the fort; Third (current) tower constructed south of fort; Tower replaced by modern beacon in order to save trees obstructing lantern in 1993.

The Archives Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History has a collection (#1055) of souvenir postcards of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online.

These include postcards of Fort Niagara Light [3] with links to customized nautical charts provided by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.