Michigan Island Light

Michigan Island Light

The current tower
Location	Michigan Island, Wisconsin
Coordinates	46°52′17.154″N 90°29′49.545″W / 46.87143167°N 90.49709583°W / 46.87143167; -90.49709583Coordinates: 46°52′17.154″N 90°29′49.545″W / 46.87143167°N 90.49709583°W / 46.87143167; -90.49709583[1]
Tower
Constructed	1857
Foundation	Concrete
Construction	Steel
Height	118 feet (36 m)
Shape	White, Skeletal with a central column
Heritage	NRHP contributing property
Light
First lit	1869
Automated	1943
Focal height	170 feet (52 m)
Lens	Third and half order Fresnel lens (original), 12-inch (300 mm)Tideland Signal ML-300 Acrylic Optic (current)
Range	11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi)[1]
Characteristic	White, Flashing, 6 sec[1] Fl W 6s
Michigan Island Light
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Area	33.8 acres (13.7 ha)
Built	1857 (1857)
Built by	U.S. Lighthouse Service
Part of	Apostle Islands Lighthouses (ID77000145[2])
Added to NRHP	March 8, 1977

The Michigan Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse operated by the National Park Service and located on Michigan Island on western Lake Superior in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

History[]

Two historical lighthouses have served as the Michigan Island light. The older 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-candela 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."^[3] This was a relative rarity, being one of only a dozen used around the country, most of which were on the Great Lakes,^[4] 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.^[4]

In 1972, the original Fresnel lens was replaced with a DCB-224 aero beacon^[5] manufactured by the Carlisle & Finch Company. In turn, that was replaced by the 12-inch (300 mm)Tideland Signal ML-300 acrylic optic.^[6] The restored Fresnel lens is on display at the visitor center of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Bayfield.^[3]

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 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 is a contributing property of the Apostle Islands Lighthouses, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.^[2] It is also listed in the Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey, WI-317 (A-C).

Transportation[]

Most of the Apostle Islands light stations can 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 many of the islands to greet visitors.^[10]

• 

  U.S. Coast Guard archive photo

• 

  The original Michigan Island light

• 

  Original Michigan Island lighthouse lens, on display at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore office in Bayfield

See also[]

• Wisconsin lighthouses
• Apostle Islands Lighthouses

References[]

Further 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 (1998). Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses. Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc. ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
• Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes".
• Wobser, David, Michigan Island Lights, Great Laker Magazine, Boatnerd
• Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.

External links[]

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 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. "Lighthouses of the United States: Northern Wisconsin". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
• "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Wisconsin". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.