Gibraltar Island (or the "Gem of Lake Erie") is an island in Ohio, located within Lake Erie. This small 6.55-acre island is just offshore of South Bass Island. It is part of Put-in-Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio. The rocky island is named for its resemblance to the Rock of Gibraltar.
Gibraltar Island became a lookout point for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the fight against the British during the War of 1812. Perry and his men defeated a fleet of British sailing vessels during the famous Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. As a result, the lookout point on Gibraltar Island became known as Perry's Lookout. The Perry Monument can be seen in the background rising 352 feet over Lake Erie and is situated 5 miles from the longest undefended border in the world.
Sandusky, Ohio, native Jay Cooke bought the island from Edwards in 1864 and immediately began construction of a 15-room Victorian-Gothic mansion (now known as Cooke Castle). Cooke was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowledged as the first major investment banker in the United States and creator of the first wire house firm. The Cooke family entertained a variety of notables, such as William Tecumseh Sherman, Salmon P. Chase, Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison. Cooke's daughter, Laura Barney, sold it to Julius Stone who eventually gave it to Ohio State University.
