Michigan Island Light
The Michigan Island Lighthouse is operated by the National Park Service and is located on Michigan Island on western Lake Superior in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
History
There are two historical lighthouses that have served as the Michigan Island light. The oldest was constructed in 1857, but not activated until 1869. It served until 1929 when it was replaced by a taller, 118-foot (36 m) skeletal tower, which is still operational.
The 3½-order Fresnel lens, coupled with a 24,000 candlepower electric light and the 170-foot (52 m) focal plane (aided by its placement on a cliff) aided by the tower's location atop the cliff, made the light range of visibility to a "remarkable 22 miles."[1] This was a relative rarity, being one of only a dozen used around the country, most of which were on the Great Lakes,[2] These lights were typically reserved for places that were an especially serious hazard to navigation. See, for example, Sturgeon Point Light. Other Great Lakes lights that had 3½-order Fresnel lenses were at (in alphabetical order): DeTour Reef, Eagle Bluff, Grays Reef, Huron Island, St. Helena Island, and Toledo Harbor.[2]
In 1972, the original Fresnel lens was replaced with a DCB-224 aerobeacon[3] manufactured by the Carlisle & Finch Company.[4] In turn, that was replaced by the 300 mm Tidelands acrylic optic.[5] The restored Fresnel lens is on display at the visitor center of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Bayfield.[6]
The structure shares its design with towers at Rawley Point Light on Lake Michigan and Whitefish Point Light at Lake Superior's eastern end. However, the Michigan Island tower has a small brick building is located at the base of the center tube, apparently a workroom for the early lighthouse keepers.[7]
Status
Currently owned by the National Park Service and part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, as reference number 77000145. Listed in the Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey, WI-317 (A-C).
Getting there
Most of the Apostle Islands light stations may be reached on the Apostle Islands Cruise Service[8] water taxi or by private boat during the summer. During the Annual Apostle Island Lighthouse Celebration[9], a ferry tour service is available for all the lighthouses. During the tourist season, volunteer park rangers are on the many of the islands to greet visitors.[10]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Michigan Island Light (New).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light 3½-order Fresnel lens.
- ↑ Aero beacon, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
- ↑ Carlisle & Finch Company.
- ↑ Tidelands 300 mm Acrylic Optic, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
- ↑ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Michigan Island Light (New).
- ↑ Wobser, David, Michigan Island Lights, Great Laker Magazine, boatnerd.com.
- ↑ Apostle Islands Cruise Service.
- ↑ Apostle Island Lighthouse Celebration.
- ↑ Wobser, David. La Pointe Light, boatnerd.com Originally in Great Laker Magazine
Specialized Additional reading
- Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan Publishers.
- Michigan Island: The Mistake that Became a Treasure. Lighthouse Digest (Mar 1999), pp. 21-24.
- Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
- Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes". http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/index.htm.
- Wobser, David, Michigan Island Lights, Great Laker Magazine, boatnerd.com.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.
Further reading
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United States Lighthouse Resources |
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United States Lighthouse Resources
- Crompton, Samuel, W; Rhein, Michael, J. The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 2002. ISBN 1-59223-102-0.
- Jones, Ray; Roberts, Bruce. American Lighthouses. Globe Pequot, 1998. 1st ed. ISBN 0-7627-0324-5.
- Jones, Ray,The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference. Globe Pequot, 2004. 1st ed. ISBN 0-7627-2735-7.
- Putnam, George, R. "Beacons of the Sea: Lighting the Coast of the United States." National Geographic XXIV.1 (January, 1913): 19. ISSN 1044-6613.
- United States Coast Guard. Aids to Navigation. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1945.
- Weiss, George. The Lighthouse Service, Its History, Activities and Organization. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1926.
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External links
The original Michigan Island light
- Aerial photos of Michigan Island Light, Marina.com.
- Lighthouse tour preview: September, 2005 VIP photo.
- Old tower Lighthouse friends article.
- New tower Lighthouse friends article.
- Michigan Island Light Station.
- National Park Service, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin, Michigan Island Lights.
- Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey Survey number HABS WI-317
- Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Michigan Island Light (New).
- Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Michigan Island Light (Old).
- Rowlett, Russ, Lighthouse Directory, Wisconsin lighthouses, Michigan Island Lights, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Volume 7, 2003 USCG Lightlist (PDF).
- United States Coast Guard list of Wisconsin lights, including Michigan Island Light.
- Categories:
- Ashland County, Wisconsin
- Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places
- Lighthouses in Wisconsin
- National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin
- Wisconsin stubs
- United States lighthouse stubs
