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
Tower
Constructed	1857
Foundation	Concrete
Construction	Steel
Automated	1943
Height	118 feet (36 m)
Shape	White, Skeletal with a central column
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places contributing property
Light
First lit	1869
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)
Characteristic	White, Flashing, 6 sec
	Michigan Island Light
	U.S. Historic district; Contributing property
Area	33.8 acres (13.7 ha)
Built	1857
Built by	U.S. Lighthouse Service
Part of	Apostle Islands Lighthouses (ID77000145)
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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Michigan Island Light (New).
^ ^a ^b Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light 3½-order Fresnel lens.
^ Aero beacon, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
^ Tideland Signal 300 mm Acrylic Optic, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
^ Wobser, David, Michigan Island Lights, Great Laker Magazine Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, Boatnerd
^ Apostle Islands Cruise Service.
^ Apostle Island Lighthouse Celebration.
^ Wobser, David. La Pointe Light Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine, Boatnerd Originally in Great Laker Magazine

External links[edit]

[uscg7-1] Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.

[nris-2] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.

[terrypepper.com-3] Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Michigan Island Light (New).

[3.5-4] Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light 3½-order Fresnel lens.

[5] Aero beacon, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.

[6] Tideland Signal 300 mm Acrylic Optic, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.

[7] Wobser, David, Michigan Island Lights, Great Laker Magazine Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, Boatnerd

[8] Apostle Islands Cruise Service.

[9] Apostle Island Lighthouse Celebration.

[10] Wobser, David. La Pointe Light Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine, Boatnerd Originally in Great Laker Magazine

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v t e Apostle Islands
Islands	Madeline Island Stockton Island Gull Island Eagle Island Outer Island Oak Island Sand Island Basswood Island Bear Island Michigan Island Hermit Island Cat Island Otter Island Manitou Island Rocky Island Long Island Ironwood Island York Island Raspberry Island Devils Island South Twin Island North Twin Island
Lighthouses	Michigan Island Light Raspberry Island Light Outer Island Light Sand Island Light Devils Island Light Gull Island Light La Pointe Light Chequamegon Point Light Ashland Harbor Breakwater Light
Shipwrecks	Antelope Big Bay sloop City of Ashland D.R. Owen Lucerne Manistee Marquette Moonlight Noquebay Ottawa Pretoria R.G. Stewart Sevona Ira H. Owen T.H. Camp
Related historic sites	Hadland Fishing Camp Bass Island Brownstone Company Quarry La Pointe Indian Cemetery Manitou Camp Rocky Island Historic District Madeline Island Historical Museum
Protected designations	Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Big Bay State Park

v t e Lighthouses of Wisconsin
Main: List of lighthouses in the United States
Lake Superior	Ashland Harbor Breakwater Chequamegon Point Devils Island Gull Island La Pointe Michigan Island Outer Island Raspberry Island Sand Island Wisconsin Point
Lake Michigan	Algoma Baileys Harbor Baileys Harbor Range Cana Island Chambers Island Dunlap Reef Range Eagle Bluff Grassy Island Range Green Bay Harbor Entrance Green island Kenosha Kenosha North Pier Kevich Kewaunee Pierhead Long Tail Manitowoc Breakwater Milwaukee Breakwater Milwaukee Pierhead North Point Peshtigo Reef Pilot Island Plum Island Range Port Washington Port Washington Breakwater Pottawatomie Racine Harbor Racine North Breakwater Racine Reef Rawley Point Sheboygan Sherwood Point Sturgeon Bay Canal Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Two Rivers Wind Point
Lake Winnebago	Asylum Calumet Fond du Lac Neenah Rockwell
Historical (lost) lights	Dunlap Reef Range Front Manitowoc Main Manitowoc North Pierhead Plum Island Range Front Racine North Pierhead
Apostle Islands Lighthouses

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